Weaknesses
by SassKS5
Summary: Antonia and her family belong to me, all other Heroes characters belong to NBC. A new Hero's life is intertwined with those we all know and love. She has to deal with her past, present and future. Please Read and Review, still in the works!
1. Chapter 1

2005

It's rainy and getting late. Antonia fiddles with the piece of paper in her hand, the ink is running and she tries to make out the address for the shop in Brooklyn. Why her sister insisted on getting her watch repaired in Brooklyn where there were multitudes of other watch shops in Manhattan she will never know. Her hair is getting wet and she swears a cold is coming on. "You're not married, you don't have children, you don't have priorities, I don't see why you cannot pick up my watch." No priorities, not special. As though starting her first year as a resident wasn't impressive. She was now a surgeon, a healer if you will. Her sister Megan told her that the man who owned the shop was a quiet man, he wouldn't give her a hard time and she would be in and out. Why did she constantly placate her sister? She used the excuse that there was an Indian restaurant she wanted to try, so that's why she was picking the watch up. She recalled the handsome nurse she had met that day, his name was Peter. His brother was a lawyer, just like her sister and equally as demanding, she suspected his brother probably had a kinder heart then her sister did and he had asked her to go to dinner with him, she accepted of course, and smiled to herself as she was walking, at least she would have something to herself, something to look forward to.

She arrived at the small shop and saw it was closing soon. She hoped she wasn't disturbing him as he was closing. She entered, her clothes soaked through, her hair pulled back. She was attractive she guessed, with her auburn hair and green eyes. Green eyes tired and worn out from her hours of work. Her sole day off catering to her families needs. Her mother was widowed, her brother in and out of the hospital. She worried about him, he kept saying he was seeing visions of himself, being followed by people. The only saving grace in her family was her younger sister Kayla who looked at Antonia like she hung the moon.

Her thoughts were broken by a man's voice. "Can I help you?"

She looked up at a man around her age, hair slicked back with a blue button up shirt and honey colored eyes.

"Yes" Antonia said

"Do you need something" he asked firmly, her sister was right about one thing. She would be in and out

"I was picking up a watch for my sister, Megan Harrison"

"Here it is" he nodded at her "It should be working fine now, tell your sister that the garbage disposal isn't the best place for a watch."

"I will, I'm Antonia" she reached her hand to shake his, he obliged

"Gabriel"

"Gabriel, nice to meet you."

"Likewise"

There was an awkward silence between them as they just looked at each other. She was captivated by him for some reason and she couldn't put her finger on it. Even though he didn't seem interested she felt challenged by him, like there was something she needed to crack. Like there was sort of vault and once she got in, she would get an exquisite prize.

"Do you like Indian food?" she asked

"It's fine, but there's a little Italian place up the street that I adore, I usually go alone and have a quiet meal and a glass of wine."

"Isn't it quiet here, alone in your watch shop?"

He chuckles and kind of smirks "yes, it is" He started to warm up a little to her, she seemed nice and kind of cute. He had spent so much time alone, he forgot how to interact sometimes with other people except his mom, who normally would just nag him.

"Why don't you wear a watch Antonia?"

" I have a blackberry, I just use that to tell time" She paused" do you love what you do Gabriel?"

He was taken aback by this question. He wanted to answer with the same line he always gives "yes I love what I do etc. etc. etc. but he couldn't, not with her.

"No, I feel like I am meant for more."

"I love what I do, but it's not enough sometimes" Antonia surprised herself, she was not one to wear her heart on her sleeve. She was often times quite logical and cold. Why was she spilling her guts to someone.

Gabriel picked up a small gold watch off of the table and took her hand. He slowly rolled her sleeve up a little and put the watch on, his hand caressed her hand for a split second and he let it go "Try this on for a bit, tell me if you like it." Antonia's knees felt like mush and it was the single more sensual thing she has felt in her entire existence.

"Gabriel, that Italian place that you were talking about, would you like to go with me."

He hesitated, in a way if she was to go there with him, it would be like he was showing himself to her. He had known her for 10 minutes now, but looking at her emerald green eyes, friendly, warm and the fact that she was quite lovely caused him to throw caution to the wind at that moment.

"Yes, that would be nice"

The restaurant was just a block away, while he was closing up the shop Antonia stared out of the window, thinking in some ways the rain would be romantic, but wishing it away just for a short while. It was growing dark and she thought a nice sunset would be lovely, and not a bleak gray sky. Gabriel came up behind her and gently put his hand on her shoulder "I'm all set, it stopped raining, I guess I won't be needing this umbrella" He placed it on one of the tables and she was stunned at the fact that the clouds had dissipated so suddenly.

They walked in silence but she couldn't help smiling at him. He had taken his glasses off and was wearing just his blue button up shirt, discarding his sweater. She noticed how handsome she was. He saw her smiling at him and asked why she was smiling.

"I'm hungry, glad to be eating"

He chuckled and held the door open for her. The restaurant was modern and warm. There were splashes of colorful paintings against start white walls. She noticed the huge wine selection on display and she could smell fresh vegetables and spices throughout the air.

"This is nice, Gabriel"

"Wait until you try the food"

They ordered a bottle of Cabernet and studied the menu. She wondered the best way to start a conversation again with him. Was he always this quiet?

They sipped their wine and made small talk for a bit and she leaned across the table and said quietly

'I want to ask you something"

He was getting red faced from the wine already, not being a big drinker, he leaned in close to her and said "I want to ask you something too?"

Antonia smiled "when you said you wanted to be special, what did you mean?"

"I meant just that, my life is so futile, I feel like I need more. I have this understanding that if just one thing changes in my life I can be different, it's hard to explain"

"You don't like fixing watches"

"No, it is just something I'm good at"

"How did you learn?"

"That's the thing, I did it on my own" he tilted his head, wondering how much he could tell her, he didn't want to scare her off.

"No one taught you?"

"Not really, it was my father's shop, he left when I was little, when I got a bit older I realized I could understand how watches worked and how to fix them."

"That's amazing" she was officially impressed by him now. He was different than anyone he has ever met. She felt her cell phone vibrate in her purse, it was probably her sister. She ignored it, she wanted to focus all of her attention on Gabriel.

"Gabriel, what did you want to ask me?"

He laughed "I was wondering if anyone called you Toni"

She looked at him oddly "No, no I don't like that, not at all Gabe"

"How about Ann, Anna, Annie...Annabella..." Gabriel was taking aback by his silliness, clearly drinking didn't agree with him but it didn't stop him from ordering another bottle of wine.

"I'll tell you what, you get my dessert and you can call me whatever you want Gabriel"

They both laughed and she wondered if the next morning he would be so at ease with her.

Hours after they have finished with dinner they are still chatting, 2 bottles of wine and 3 scoops of gelato later they find themselves back at his small apartment. She has no intention of leaving and he isn't prepared to let her. Antonia clumsily removes her shoes and stretches her legs out on his couch. His apartment is sparse only decorated by books, she assumes he doesn't have people over often. When he comes out of his bedroom in sweat pants and a t shirt, against her better judgment all she wants to do is mess up his hair and see what he is hiding. She's surprised when he makes the first move, he grabs her hair gently and forcefully kisses her on the lips. Her hands move up his shirt and she digs her nails in. They stop kissing after a few minutes and she breathlessly removes his shirt and tinkers with the thought of telling him that she normally doesn't do this on the first date, she suspects he doesn't either. However the mixture of wine, hormones and the fact that his lips taste like peaches makes her forget about it for the time being.

Antonia woke up with the sunlight streaming in her face. She was crammed in Gabriel's little bed practically on top of him. Her head was killing her and she had the taste of stale alcohol in her mouth. He was sleeping soundly and she took a while to trace the outlines of his chin with her finger. She lightly touched his biceps, the hair of his chest, she tickled his stomach a bit before her hands started to rub his legs and she trailed back up stopping to feel him. He was hard and he woke up and smiled at her

"Good morning" he murmured, he kissed her and fumbled around with his glasses. "Do you want breakfast?" he asked

"That sounds nice, can I take a shower?"

"Sure" he kissed her again and got up behind her. She turned around to kiss him again and saw he was naked. She smiled coyly at him and stripped his shirt off of herself, the one she wore to bed.

He followed her in quietly and joined her. "I thought we were going to have breakfast" He turned the temperature on the water down and kissed her, the water was dripping into his eyes and down his body. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him.

"We will" he paused "I usually don't do this Ann"

"Me neither, but I'm not complaining" she gently turned him around so his back was against the wall and got on her knees. She slowly brought him into her mouth and the coldness from the shower mixed in with the warmth of her mouth was incredible.

Gabriel looked down at this perfect person he had, all to himself at that moment. The only thing she cared about at that moment was him.

Once they were done they sat at the table. Eating some take out from the little cafe down the street.

"Gabe, I wanted you to know how much fun I had, I was hoping we could spend more time with each other"

"How about tonight?"

She laughed "I have to work tonight, but later in the week, you could come into the city, maybe we could see a show or go to the museum"

Gabe smiled "That sounds wonderful"

They exchanged numbers and she left shortly after. The brightness of the sun reflected her mood perfectly.  
_  
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	2. Chapter 2

Antonia arrived back in her apartment in the city about 45 minutes later. Pulling her blackberry out of her purse she noticed she had 6 missed calls.

3 from her sister wondering where she has been and demanding a call back ASAP, those were deleted. 1 from her friend Traci who wanted to see her when she came to town, Peter called to remind her of their dinner before work tonight and the last from Gabriel to let her know she left her underwear at his apartment.

She took a nap before getting ready for dinner. She felt uneasy about keeping the date after last night, but Peter was surely turning out to be a friend and a good ally at work. Maybe there could have been something between them but after meeting Gabe, while she didn't want to put her eggs all in one basket. She couldn't help but think that she didn't want to be with any other man.

Dinner was interesting to say the least. She enjoyed Peter's company and she was intrigued when he started to talk about the dreams he had been having. Coupled with what Gabriel had told her last night, her brothers issues and what was going on with her she had to ask-

"Peter, have you told anyone about these dreams?"

"I've tried to tell Nathan, he tells me I'm nuts, his silly younger brother with his head in the clouds"

"Lately I have been feeling this strange connection with nature, with the elements. It's so weird, I'm a very logical person, I'm a scientist...a doctor...but I just feel like I can make things happen. Like last night, it was raining..I thought about how nice it would be to have a sunset, not such a dark evening like it has been lately. Suddenly there it was!"

Peter's eyes lit up "See, Antonia, you get it. I don't know what it is, but we are MEANT for something"

"I met someone yesterday, in Brooklyn he told me that he just one day knew how to fix watches, completely understood them. What is this Peter?"

"I don't know, but when I find out, I want you there"

"Same here" she sighed "I need to go"

"What's wrong"

'I need to see my brother Peter, I need to talk to him, I'll see you later!"

She hopped into a cab and to her brother brownstone. He was older than her and was once a prominent actor on Broadway until his "accident" the papers said, but she knew the truth. He started going insane, or so she thought.

She used her key to go in, she knew he was on his meds and was hoping he was having one of his good days

"Seth, it's me Tonia"

He was laying on the couch and looked dazed "I saw him again, he looked like me. Just like me."

"I know, I know"

"The paper truck keeps following me, did it follow you!?" he grasped her arms. "No, no one followed me, Seth when you see yourself, what are you doing?"

"Running errands, I saw myself outside of NYU on my way to an audition, I was reading an English Lit book. I always wanted to study English Lit, he was reading..I don't remember maybe Moielere" She shook her head "No, probably not. Seth, you need help but I don't think the meds are helping."

"Why are they following me?"

"I don't know, but I'll get to the bottom of it. Do you understand me?"

"They think I'm crazy"

"You're not crazy" she hugged him and while she was hugging him she felt a rumble in her hand, first the right, then the left.

"Why are you shaking Tonia?"

"I'm cold, that's all, I have to get to work. I'll bring you breakfast in the morning when I get out"

She arrived at work only to be greeted by an emergency appendectomy, a broken nose and several magnets stuck up a 16 year olds nose, she didn't ask.

Once she finally got a break she went outside for some air. It was humid and she let her mind drift away to a nice beach, at night, with a cool breeze and she started to shiver a little. She shiver shocked her back into reality and she heard the sound of an ambulence in the distance.

She saw the paramedics working on a male. Light hair matted with blood, eyes closed, he was a dead ringer for her brother

"Seth! SETH"

"Mam you have to get out of the way" the EMT tried to push her back

"I'm a doctor and that is my brother!!"

"According to the ID his name is James Carlson of 101st street, that is your brother?" she asked inquisitively

"No, he looks like him..so much"

She called her sister outside of the ER

"Antonia, FINALLY where the hell is my watch"

"Megan, have you talked to Seth"

"Not lately, where have you been?"

"You need to go to his apartment NOW, Megan right NOW"

"What's wrong?"

"He has been in an accident, I just saw him, they're saying his name is James, but I know, I know it is Seth."

"Okay, calm down I'll be right down there"

She stood shaking, she wanted to call Gabe, her mom, anyone she was so frightened. Why did Seth have another mans ID on him, why was he so far uptown? Was he beaten?

She ran into the ER and saw a nurse "The patient James Carlson, how is he"

"I'm sorry, he's dead"

"Can I see him"

"Why"

"I NEED to see him, I'm not arguing with you. I'm a resident, you have to listen to me' she was crying at this point. Luckily she saw Peter who ran to her and held her "It's my brother Peter, it's him...I don't care what they say"

"It's okay, let's go, we'll see what's going on"

She looked down at the man they called James Carlson, he had Seth's nose, though it was shattered, his mouth, his hair. It was him.

"You are nuts Antonia, absolutely certifiable" she heard the nagging tones of her sister Megan

"Seth is dead Megan"

"No he's not, he's in the car, he's fine"

"He is laying on this bed Megan, look at him" she spit out every word like it was something horrible she had to get out of her mouth, like poison.

"That's not Seth, he is IN the car"

She walked out to the car, only to see him sitting in the passenger seat. Happily reading the newspaper and very much alive. She turned pale and passed out.

Antonia awakens in the ER with Peter by her side. She feels calm and relaxed.

"How long was I out for Peter?"

"Just a minute or so, I gave you something to calm you down"

"Did you look at him?" she asked quietly

"I did, you're right, he is your brothers double"

"They're are others out there Peter, we're not the only ones..." she was drifting in and out "I have to go back to work'

"No, you need to lie down. Is there anyone you need me to call?"

"No, I don't want to worry him"

"Who?"

"My friend Gabriel" she smiled at Peter and he handed her a glass of water "He can fix watches..."

"Try to get some rest"

The hospital insisted she take a couple of days off from work, she was nervous about seeing her family after this fiasco. Megan was disgusted, her mother worried and Kayla of course was fascinated.

She arrived at her mother's house on Long Island at around 4pm. Her mother ran to her and hugged her 'How are you dear, are you alright? What happened, Megan filled me in"

"Mom, I know she doesn't believe me, but things are happening, things beyond our control. It's not just Seth, or me I met others...like Peter'

"Peter?"

"Peter Petrelli"

"Petrelli, I see" she looked thoughtful for a moment and guided her to the couch "What did Peter tell you?"

"About dreams he has been having, he can sense things before they happen"

"That happens to a lot of people dear"

"No, no this is different and me. I feel like I can control nature"

Her mom smiled, she was expecting her to laugh but she said "I think you and your brother need rest. You are both so stressed" She stroked her daughters cheek.

"Don't you think it's possible, evolution is such a remarkable thing, maybe we are meant for more, maybe some people are meant for more mom"

"You are fantastic, you're beautiful, a doctor. What more could you ask for?"

"I need you to see something, with your own eyes I need you to see it"

"Show me Antonia, so I can understand"

She went out to the back porch with her mother. "Look at the sky, how sunny it is"

"It's a lovely day"

"I want it to be cloudy, I want it to rain"

"You can't always get what you want dear" her mother joked

"It WILL rain mom because I want it to. That man I saw in the hospital, the man in the morgue is Seth, I will get a DNA sample anything...it is him"

Suddenly they heard a rumble of thunder and saw specs of dark clouds passing by, it started to lightly rain

Her mother stood in awe "How..." then she became firm, her face hardened. "You cannot tell anyone about this, I need you to stop"

"Why isn't this happening to Megan and Kayla mom?"

"We should get inside, help me start dinner"

Megan hadn't arrived yet, which was such a relief. She wanted to spend some time with Kayla, she was a junior in High School and wanted to be a journalist, travel to war torn countries and tell exciting and inspiring tales of people rising from the depths of hell. While their family came from money all of the siblings were very down to earth, except of course Megan with whom the world revolved around. If she knew that within the past 2 days she had a date with watch maker and a nurse she would have a fit.

Kayla came downstairs to help her with dinner

"I hate cooking Tonia"

"I know, but you're not actually cooking, you're just chopping a tomato, that's not cooking...it's chopping" she playfully ruffled her sisters short hair, cut in a very trendy, choppy style and now streaked with bright blond which suited her.

"So how was your date?"

She winked "which one?"

"You have 2! With the guy from work?"

"Nope"

"You sneaky vixen, you're dating 2 men at once" Kayla laughed at the absurdity of this, her sister normally found it hard to get one date

"No, my date with Peter from work was lovely, but we're friends. I met another guy the night before, he lives in Queens"

"Where did you meet him?"

"At his watch shop, he owns it, impressive huh?"

'Is he cute?"

"Kayla there is more to a man than looks....but yes he's gorgeous" she winked

"Gorgeous, but when do you see him if he lives in the burbs?"

"We have plans tomorrow. He doesn't know I was in the hospital yet, I need to call him, I don't want him to worry"

Her lovely conversation was cut short by the shrill tones of her sisters voice. Antonia rolled her eyes at Kayla and her Megan come in

"So you're dating my creepy watch repairman" she smirked

'Jealous Megan"

"No, the guy is a freak"

Kayla interjected "A freak who is probably REALLY good with his hands, you know getting into small areas..."

Both sisters looked at Kayla stunned "You're 16 you shouldn't know about that stuff!" Antonia shook her head "but yes, he had nice hands. Now use YOUR hands and keep chopping"

"Megan, you know what. I have had a REALLY stressful last couple of days and I don't need you insulting me or Gabriel"

"I just need you to know what you're getting into"

'You don't know him Megan, you know nothing about him. "

"I care about your well being"

"That is bull and you know it, you hate me Megan, for whatever reason, I don't know what I did to you but you don't want to see me happy"

"Someone who spends all of that time alone, you know the only other woman I have ever seen him talk to is his mother. There is something in his eyes, something scary and sinister, Antonia you should stay away from him"

"Maybe you should stay away from me Megan" she turned around and went back to cooking. She adored Gabriel and there wasn't anything anyone could say to change her mind.

After dinner Antonia decided to pay Gabriel a visit. She didn't know how he would react to such a surprise but she wanted to tell him what was going on.

When she arrived at is apartment she could see a light streaming through his window, she knocked on the door and he answered. He had just finished dinner and he smiled at her 'hey you, what a nice surprise. I thought I wouldn't see you until tomorrow"

She started to cry and grabbed onto him tightly

"What's wrong?" He looked worried and held her arms, he stroked her hair "what happened?"

She told him all of the things that happened with her brother, her friend from work whose name she didn't mention and with her sister.

"Antonia, I think we need to talk"

"Did I scare you? I am SO sorry, I am crazy. Oh God I am.."

He turned around and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He motioned for her to come over and she saw a book on his table called "Activating Evolution"by Chandra Suresh

"This man" he motioned towards the book "has a theory about certain people being chosen by God maybe or something..his theory is that there might be people out their who can do extraordinary things. Maybe I'm one of them, maybe you are?"

"Maybe"

They sat quietly together reading the book and fell asleep at some point late into the night.

They woke up the next morning and took the subway into the city. They shopped for a bit, ate lunch, and saw some avant garde art at some museums in Soho. She held Gabriel's hand tightly and was so grateful that she had someone like him. She felt normal again, she felt like she was in love. Which was absurd, only knowing him for a couple of days but all she wanted was to be with him.

A couple of months went by and they were happy, blissfully happy, so much so that she often felt like she was walking on clouds. Gabriel was still trying to search for what would make him special, Antonia had given up a bit and was just happy for the first time in a long time. She never introduced her friend Peter to Gabe, she felt like it would be too awkward. Peter had met a lovely woman named Simone who was the daughter of one of his patients. He would talk about her to Antonia and she would try to give him the best advice she could. Peter was one of her best friends now but she wanted to keep Gabe her secret for a bit. Peter knew she was dating someone but she was vague when she spoke of him.

She remembers well the day that they tried to come for her brother, she was going to visit and bring Gabriel with her, but he was swamped at his store. She arrived with some lunch for him and was going to see if he was well enough to go see a show, matinees were better because there were less people. She saw a truck down the block from her building, the words on the front were "Primatech Paper" she had never heard of this company but she figured it was new. She saw a tall man with glasses walking up her brothers brownstone steps. She ran up to him and spoke with him

"Hello, are you trying to find the person who lives here?"

'Why do you ask" the man said, he was towering over her, even though she was 5 feet 9 inches, he was even taller than Gabriel

"He's out of the country, I'm staying at his place."

"I don't believe you"

Just then she saw a petite blond, with light blue eyes cold and hard. She lifted her hand up and she saw bright blue sparks lighting up in her hand. It was all piecing together for her. She summoned up a bit of strength and started to run, into her brothers brownstone and to stop them she found herself suddenly able to shoot wind from her hands, she screamed and knocked them down. She saw her brother and grabbed him

"We are leaving NOW!" She pulled him out back and when she didn't see them anymore, they ducked into an alley

"I saw them Seth, I saw the paper truck. I believe you, I believe in your ability"

"Thank you, what are we going to do?"

"Get you out of here, now! Some place safe"

"Tonia, do you have...."

"Yes, I don't know about mom, or Kaya or Megan but I do, I do and we need to keep it quiet and leave."

She pushed him into the car and they drove, she needed to get out of the city. She thought of Gabriel, she needed to tell him he had to keep quiet. He needed to give up on his search for these powers or this could happen to him. They drove for hours and ended up in Washington DC.

She rang the bell of her friends house, Traci walked up to the door and embraced her friend"Tonia, I have company but I'm glad you're here"

"I need to talk to you Traci, I need to get my brother out of the country now"

"What's wrong?"

"Something is happening and you're the only one I can trust"

She left her brother in Traci's hands and she drove back to NY, she arrived n Queens early in the morning to see Gabriel.

"Ann, this book is amazing, I really think he is on to something and I want to talk to this doctor more."

"You should stop Gabriel"

"What?"

"It's insane, Gabriel you don't have an ability, no one does"

He looked hurt

"I thought you believed me"

"No, I was being nice to you Gabriel, trying to placate you. No one has an ability, it is not possible"

"It IS possible and you know it!" he was yelling, he hated hurting him but it was the only way to keep him safe

"I can't be around someone who believes in this, I have to go"

"Ann! What is this?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go Gabriel, it was nice knowing you and I need to get away from you." she was holding back tears

"You're special too, you're broken Ann you are BROKEN stop!"

"You need to forget this, don't call this doctor just be a normal watch maker, just be normal"

"Ann..."

"Good Bye" she turned around and she heard him sniffling. She wanted to badly to run to him and hold him, but she needed to protect him. She believed he had an ability too, she knew that if he perused it, it was only a matter of time before they found him and tried to hurt him.

"I love you" she heard him say as she left and she tried not to cry but half way home her body was wrecked with sobs, so hard that couldn't contain them.

She went back to her mothers house in Long Island. Traci called and told her that she sent her brother to Europe. After a month or so she went out with Traci to Paris. She was severely depressed, which is why she didn't worry when she was late. It was biological probably, the stress, the heartache, but she knew deep down inside. When she took the test and saw the little pink plus sign, what should have been a happy moment was the most heart breaking.

Upon returning to the States she was deliberating whether or not to keep her baby. She decided to go back to Gabriel and tell him, explain to him why she did what she did. When she arrived she saw the familiar paper van that she saw when her brother was nearly abducted and ran to the door. When she peaked inside she saw him on the floor, sitting with a blond. The blond with electricity, he was crying and she was holding his hand. She wanted to burst into the door and comfort him, to tell him that they were going to have a child, but she couldn't. She also wanted to use her power to destroy the shop, she was angry, she felt it burning inside of her. She knew with the Primatech van close she couldn't. So she left to find her friend Peter. Who of course welcomed her back in with open arms. He had begun manifesting his power and she was enamored by it. She was glad to have her dear friend with her. He was there for the delivery and she recalls on the news hearing about a string of murders across the country a man called "Sylar" he would open peoples heads and their brains were removed. She recalls when Gabriel's mom died, she wanted so badly to be there only to pick up the paper one day and see he was suspected.

She knew she couldn't tell anyone about the father of her child. When she was holding her son she saw on the news a sketch of his "Sylar" it was a spitting image of Gabe. She needed to leave the area soon, make sure nothing would ever happen to her child. She left her life behind and started anew.


	3. Chapter 3

Her sister told her it wasn't easy to be a mom. Antonia worked long hours, surely she wasn't the right fit. She could be selfish, moody, a bit wild and was always busy. She wanted to leave work for the day and curl up on the couch with a big glass of wine, but she couldn't. Not now, perhaps not for the next 18 or some odd years.

In the locker room she removed her scrubs and put on her pants and sweater. She was enjoying a second of peace and quiet when a nurse burst into the room, destroying her second of tranquility.

"Someone is asking for you!"

Antonia smiled politely "I'm off duty now, have them make an appointment"

"No, he won't wait, he said he saw your name in the ER...he needs to see you and only you"

"A patient"

"No, he brought the patient in"

"You look frightened, are you sure you're okay"

"You're going to think I'm crazy but he knew I was lying when I said you weren't here...he..I can't get into it"

"So you want me to go and see a crazy person,is that what you are asking me"

She heard a male voice

"I'm not crazy Ann, though some people would disagree" her blood ran cold, she knew the voice and only one person called her Ann, she hadn't seen him for over a year. He was with a blond the last time she saw him, she looked up at the once soft eyes, now cold and hard "Gabe..."

"It's been a while." he wasn't wearing his glasses and his hair was longer. She thought of what she had heard in the news and how she looked for him, only to find him crying in the lap of someone else. She had two choices, she could have walked into the shop after she had been gone for so long or walk away. When she saw the truck outside, she knew what she had to do. She walked away, thinking about her brother and how they found him, she didn't have a choice. She tried to hide her brother from the people going after him. She remembered saying good bye to Gabriel and the heartache it caused. She needed to protect him and if he did have an ability, he should keep it quiet, there were horrible people out there. Little did she know then he would be the one she should be afraid of.

"It has"

The nurse was standing there looking fearful and put a protective arm around Antonia.

"You can leave Kelly, it's okay" she said soothingly

"Do you need me to call the police?" she whispered in her ear

"I want to see the charts on Thomas Greene's surgery, can you get them for me Kelly and wait in my office?" she hesitated and left.

"Gabe"

"Don't call me that, I need your help"

"Fine, what do you want me to call you?"

"Sylar"

"Yea, that's not going to happen"

He looked annoyed "I need you to help someone for me, only you. He's downstairs and I don't trust anyone else."

"What's wrong, where have you been? I haven't seen you since...."

"You left?"

"I didn't leave you Gabriel"

"It sure as hell seemed like it, but I'm not the pathetic person you once knew"

"You were never pathetic, let me take care of your friend, if he's injured..."

They went to the emergency room and saw that he brought in a teenage boy, she checked him out. "He has a concussion, he will have to stay for the night, what happened?" Antonia poured a glass of water for Luke and told him to rest.

"A car accident"

"How are you not hurt Gabriel, has someone checked you out?" She went up to him and saw his shirt had blood.

"I'm fine!"

"Let me look you over"

"No"

"Sit DOWN!" Antonia looked annoyed, it was her job, she took an oath and no matter what she had to care for anyone who came into the hospital.

He smirked at her and sat down on the hospital bed. She checked him out, head to toe "It's amazing..not a scratch..how?"

"Special I guess"

"You've always wanted to be special" she murmured and added "so that blond made you feel pretty special?"

He laughed at her "You are NOT mad about a girl, are you? That is very high school of you..I have no time for that"

"You were crying in her lap, you never cried in front of me."

"I was weak back then"

"I tried to find you for the past year, when I found out your mother died I wanted to find you then I found out you were suspected of killing her! What am I supposed to think??"

"Do NOT talk about my mother"

The boy lifted his head up "Are you guys done arguing? I think we need to leave"

"No, you have to stay overnight for observation" she turned to Luke and kindly smiled at him before turning back to Gabe. " I won't even ask how you picked him up Sylar, Gabriel whatever the hell you are going by now"

"Luke, do you see what happens when your emotions get in the way? Like I told you?" Sylar asked

"Why is she calling you Gabriel" Luke looked genuinely confused "what's going on between you two"

"That's his name and I am not going to argue in front of you, you need rest"

Antonia left the room shaking but not before overhearing Gabe in a soft voice tell the teenage boy that he needs to not be trusting, people will break his heart, those you love will break your heart.

She's sad for a moment and against her better judgment walks back in after a short while and places her hand on Sylar's shoulder.

"Where you listening to us?" He looked at her with harsh eyes.

"Yea, I need to talk to you."

"What?"

"What you said to Luke, I didn't want to leave you, I didn't want to break your heart"

"You didn't break my heart, I didn't love you" he said firmly but she could tell that there was something there, something that he didn't want her to see.

"Yes, I did break your heart and you did love me"

'You always had an inflated sense of self didn't you?"

"I came back for you, you don't understand what I had to do" She was pleading now, wondering how she can explain what happened, trying not to cry.

"You saw me with another woman, you have no idea what happened and you got angry and never came back"

"Are you with her now"

"No, she's dead"

"I see" not wanting to ask anymore questions

Antonia paused for what seemed like forever...

"You need to know something, I need you to come with me." she said firmly

She didn't understand completely why she was doing this, she didn't see the point, she was doing fine on her own but she thought it would be unfair not to tell him. If he was as dangerous as she thought he was, it wouldn't be a good idea to lie

"Where are we going?'"

"My house, you can spend the night in the guestroom, your friend HAS to spend the night at the hospital"

He senses something in her, that it is important for him to go with her. He says good bye to Luke and they go to her house. When they enter they are greeted by Gwen her nanny/maid/cook/guardian angel.

Sylar catches his breath and his eyes are boring into the back of her head when he notices a small monitor on the table. She turns around and says "there is someone I would like you to meet"

As they head upstairs he is thinking of the last time a woman he was involved with "introduced" him to someone...Trevor, Elle invited him over for dinner and things took a turn for the worst. This time, instead of seeing an emo looking 20 something who could fire bullets out of his fingers, he is greeted by a crib with a small, little baby inside.

He looks at her and she says 'this is your son"

He looks down at the person in the crib, he's sleeping and has a wisps of dark hair like he does and wonders what color his eyes are. He thinks of his own parents and how it seemed as no one wanted him, he was sold, passed around by people. Even in his 30's he was still be manipulated, or at least was manipulated, not anymore.

"How old is he?"

"A couple of months"

"He's mine?"

"Yes" He uses his ability and sees she is telling the truth

"That day, when you saw me with Elle, you could have told me, things would have been different."

"How?"

"Long story, I don't know what you want me to do"

"Do you want to hold him"

"No"

"No?" She looked shocked, Antonia didn't understand why, in a way she had thought he would be over joyed, but he was so different than what he used to be.

"Not yet, I need to think. I don't know...I'm looking for my father...and I don't know, for the first time I don't understand"

"Understand what?" She places a hand on his shoulder

"Everything"

"He has your eyes too, maybe he'll be lucky and look like his daddy when he grows up"

"I hope he is nothing like me" he says softly

She leads him out of the nursery and shows him the guest room. Antonia retires to her room and shuts off the lights, she had warned him that she will be locking the door in case he thought of trying anything funny. Against her better judgment she trusted him.

In the middle of the night she heard the rumbling of thunder. She smiled softly and thought it was perfect. She heard the door open and turned around in bed and saw Gabriel in his boxers

"I thought I told you to stay in your room"

"I couldn't sleep"

"Not my problem anymore"

"Ann..."

"What?" She couldn't get past what she was looking at when her eyes moved down his body. She wished she could control herself

"I wanted to talk to you, I need to show you something"

"I already see it Gabe"

"Not THAT What is our sons name?"

"Noah"

"Noah!"

"Yes Noah Grayson...you don't have much say in it"

"But..Noah?"

She sighed.."what do you need to show me"

"When I used to talk about being special, being more than what I was, it happened. I can do amazing things"

"Like what"

"Move objects with my mind, shoot electricity, tell when someone is lying"

"Impressive"

"I can show you"

He looked at her, like the first time they were together he forgot himself for a sat at the end of her bed and rubbed her feet, she had her eyes closed and he told her to keep them open. "Watch where my hands are?"

She felt them massaging her feet, saw them both of his hands that were used to worship her time and time again and probably used for far worse were on her feet. She then felt her a sensation in her knees, moving up throughout her belly, breasts and lips.. He used his TK to remove her pants slowly. She looked down in wonder as they slipped slowly off... as they moved his hands trailed down her body and he ran his fingers along her clit..while she gasped "What..."

"That's telekinesis, do you like it?"

"I DO like it...what else do you have"

"I'm indestructible, you can do whatever you want to me and I can't get hurt"

"Why would I want to hurt you"

He grabbed her hard and pinned her arms back "Do what you want to me" he pressed his whole body against hers, his nose against her nose and he rasped the words out violently and deeply. "You want to hurt me, I know you do"

"So if I break your neck you'll heal"

"Yes"

"Stab you?"

"Yes"

"Set you on fire?"

"Yes"

She saw a bright blue light in his hands and he gently but painfully ran the sparks against her skin and kissed every part of where it was. It was a delicious mix of pain and pleasure and she drew him for a kiss.

"This is why I didn't want you to come in"

"Do you want me to stop'

"No, please don't" She felt his skin against hers, and her hand ran down his chest and she started to touch him and hear him groan. She smiled and he felt a rumble within him that shocked him "What was that?" he gasped.

"My special ability, like it?"

"What is it?"

"Shh....I'm not going to hurt you." she led him inside her, remembering how he felt from so long ago

"I'm not the shy one anymore"

"Shh Sylar..shh"

"Don't call me that, I'm Gabriel"

"Gabe, seriously be quiet" She silenced him again with a kiss a hard kiss all tongue and teeth and bit his lip hard. "You can heal huh?"

They were interrupted by Noah crying at the top of his lungs. Sylar rolled over onto his back and started to get up off of the bed.

"You're going to go and take care of him"

"Can I try?" He pulled his underwear back on and she followed him into the nursery.

He picked Noah up out of the crib and cradled him. "It's okay" he whispered "shhh, don't cry, I'm here shhh..."

"I usually sing to him when he gets like that"

"I'm not singing Ann"

"Check to see if his diaper is wet"

"Do you want me to change it"

"You tinker around in people's gray matter yet you are squeamish at the sight of pee?"

"I'm not squeamish, but I don't change diapers, I've never changed a diaper"

She smiled, "I'll take him, I'll change him then you can hold him for a little bit, until he falls back asleep"

Sylar took Noah into his arms again and sat in the rocking chair, it was too small for him but he didn't care for the time being.

Once Noah drifted off Sylar went back into Antonia's bedroom and kneeled next to her.

"You hate me, I know" he tilted his head and smiled at her

"I don't hate you" she paused..."I hate you a little actually" "I just don't understand why you showed up out of the blue...you messed up my quiet existence"

"You did that to me first, what you said earlier about your ability. What is it?"

"I was being flirtatious about my sexual prowess Gabriel, I don't have an ability"

He felt the now familiar shake of her lie.

"I told you I can tell when people lie"

"I have one, so does my brother. I'm not sure about the rest of my family"

"What is it?"

"Gabe, I missed you so much"

"I know, I know"

"My brother has multiplicity and I have weather manipulation"

He stroked her hair "Little Noah will probably have one too, won't he?"

"Yes, I was trying to protect you. When I saw what that company was going to to do my brother I got scared"

"You could have been stronger"

"I could have"

"You're power is impressive"

"Thanks, your powers are impressive too"

"Why don't we talk more in the morning, you look tired" he kissed her on the forehead and she grabbed his arm

"Sleep here, please"

He curled up next to her, barely touching until she rolled over and nuzzled her head against his chest and they went to sleep.

Surprisingly Noah slept through the night. Luke was due to be discharged later that day so she figured she only had a few precious hours with Sylar until he had to leave. Antonia was filled with doubt and a bit of fear. She assumed that her power was quite seductive to him but she hoped that the bit of kindness she had showed him coupled with their son would stop him.

She was downstairs making breakfast when she heard him come down the steps. He was wearing his jeans, his t-shirt and his hair wasn't brushed. For a moment he looked so normal and it was as though the whole scene fit together perfectly.

"I'm making fritatta!"

"I hate eggs and you know that Ann, do you have any coffee?" he asked

"I know you don't like eggs, I can make pancakes, waffles, a fruit salad...anything you might want."

"It's fine, I think we need to talk"

Her knees buckled and she inhaled sharply

"About what?"

"Noah"

She sat down at the table and stirred her coffee "What about him?"

"I want to be a part of his life one day, but I just don't see how I can be. I mean it will be so hard to explain"

"We don't have to worry about that until he gets older"

"Do you realize that I won't get older?'

"I just thought you healed"

"I do, and throughout time your body just keeps healing and you don't age'

"Of course, so when I'm 90 and Noah grows up, you'll look like this" She leaned over to touch his face "we would look pretty silly wouldn't we"

"Yea, I would lose you and Noah and I can't handle that"

"So you do care about us"

He didn't answer and went to the fridge to grab some fruit "You said something about muffins"

"Gabriel...we should talk about this"

"Do you have blueberries?"

"GABRIEL"

"WHAT do you want me to say, I can't be this person you want me to be'

"I'm not asking for you to marry me and live in the Connecticut suburbs, I am just asking that you don't kill me and maybe come visit once a year"

"Why would I kill you?"

"My power, isn't that why you kill everyone?"

He looked hurt for a moment then regained his composure

"No, I've killed because there are certain people who have seen a side of me that they shouldn't. Like Elle, I took her power, not through killing her, but through empathy and I killed her anyway. She was manipulative and saw me weak. Now the fact that your skull is not sawed open right now should prove to you that you are at least somewhat important to me!"

"Empathy...like Peter..." she said softly

"How do you know Peter?" he asked firmly

"We worked together around the time I met you"

"Were you..."

"NO! Just friends, he was with me when Noah was born. He didn't know you were the father."

"I do want your power"

"I know"

"I could try to take it another way, rather than killing you"

"If it doesn't work, then what will you do?"

"I don't know."

They walked out to back porch in silence. Sylar put his hand on her shoulder and asked for her to show him her power.

"There are a few things I can do with it. I can control it externally and internally"

"Show me"

She gathered up strength in her hand and placed it on his arm. He felt the strong rumbling that he felt the night before and yet she was completely steady. He started to feel mist all around him and then it was raining. She smiled "this is just for starters"

The wind started to pick up as the sky turned a dangerous shade of black. He saw what she was doing, she was trying to make a hurricane. He grabbed on to her and yelled "I need you to do something to me"

"WHAT"

"Use it on me"

'It will kill you"

"No it won't"

She focused her energy on him. He felt the sting of lightning on his wet skin, he was shaking as the cold water soaked through. It was becoming hard to breath. He fell down onto the porch he felt the splinters of wood ripping his skin to shreds then the softness of the healing,he was sure there was glass shattering around him, pieces of the porch impaling his body. He knew he was defenseless, he wanted to see if this was the way to get powers. For HIM to get powers. He has caused so much pain, maybe he needs to feel it too.

He was drowning and not healing fast enough. As he stared up at her everything started to become dark, he had died once before. In the fire when he found out Angela was not his mother. He woke up amongst the rubble without a scratch. This was death, he was numb.

Antonia broke her concentration for a moment when she realized Sylar was unconscious on the ground. He didn't look like he was breathing. Her eyes widened and she fell to her knees and put her head against his chest. There was a faint heart beat. She cradled him in her arms as he started to cough up water. He opened his eyes and saw her worried face and she was murmuring to herself and stroking his hair.

"Are you okay? Please say something...my sweet, sweet Gabriel...please be okay"

'I'm fine"

"You're okay, can you get up?"

"Yes' He got up on steady legs "I'm going to try it now"

"Why did I have to hurt you?"

"I have to see how a power works, I have to feel it, I have to feel pain..."

"Try it"

He accessed her ability with ease, he was amazed that he was able to copy her ability as well. It wasn't easy like Peter. It was easier for him to open up someone skull and study the mechanics, maybe it was messier but he could live with that.

"We should go inside" She started to walk into the house and felt herself unable to move, she turned around, not by choice and realized that Sylar was using his telekinesis on her.

He pulled her closer

"I thought you weren't going to kill me'

'I'm not' he lifted his hand to her face and she didn't flinch. It was something that he noticed because Elle flinched that night on the beach. He kissed her lightly on the lips and pulled her close "You are so good, so undamaged....you're perfect"

"I'm not, I have done some terrible things"

He brushed his lips against her neck "Not like me, you're amazing" It didn't happen very often to him but he wanted her badly right there and then. It may have been the rush of acquiring her power, if he couldn't see inside her mind he wanted to be inside her body. He screwed her right on the porch, she couldn't think of another way to put it. It was passionate, violent and she loved it. She loved his fingers, tongue, his body. She loved every dangerous minute with him. She hoped her screams didn't alarm the neighbors too much.

She heard little Noah's cries for them upstairs and she was thankful he was so young so he wouldn't question the disheveled look of his parents.

"What you said earlier about doing terrible things, what could you have done that was so bad?" He was curious to know exactly what would constitute as "bad" in her book.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes"

"I took a life" she choked the words out quickly

"Whose?"

"I killed someone"

"Who?"

"My sister, Megan" Antonia put Noah back in his crib and walked out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Sylar followed Antonia out of Noah's nursery

"You couldn't kill someone Ann, it's not in you"

"I would say the same thing about you Gabe, when I first met you I didn't think you had a violent bone in your body, and now look at you. It got so easy didn't it?"

"Easier yes, but I don't do it for the sake of killing"

"I don't think the loved ones of your victims would care about your reasoning, it must be some sort of cruel irony right, you get to live forever and yet you have taken so many lives"

"You have a point, but I'm not worried about that now. How did it happen?"

"It isn't something I want to talk about now"

"I need to know"

He grabbed her arms and looked her firmly in the eyes "I need to know what make you do it, why? how?"

"Why do you care?"

"Does your family know it was you?"

"Yes, they played it off as a freak accident, but I hated her so much Gabriel. She made my life miserable, she made her husband and daughter's lives miserable and we are far better without her."

"Who could understand better than me?" He walked her over to the couch and sat her down "You tell me what happened Ann, right now"

Antonia took a deep breath-

After Noah was born Kayla was over and helping me out with various things I had to do and keeping me company.

"So I have a secret to tell you Tonia" Kayla smiled slyly at her

'I know I still look pregnant, don't I?"

"Not that! Give yourself a break; you just had a kid last week. No I have been remembering things lately."

"Like what?"

"I've been able to retain information quickly and I watched a French film the other day and understood everything, it is pretty amazing"

"Well, you're a smart girl Kayla"

"This goes beyond smart. I can speak French, I understand Chinese, German, Italian, Korean, Russian...and I can remember every detail of events..."

"Kayla...."

"What! Test me!"

"How can I test you? I speak some Spanish and I can order sushi with the best of them, that's about it."

'Give me your one of your medical books; this is going to be so awesome for my journalism career!!!" Kayla smirked "OR shall I say-

"cela va être génial pour ma carrière de journaliste"

"to je teko v obstati tako super za moje novinarska kariera"

"esto va a ser tan impresionante para mi carrera de periodismo"

"Give me your book and I guarantee by tomorrow I will be able to amputate your toe with ease!"

Tonia stared at her sister in awe "You are serious Kayla....wow..."

"Don't you think this means something Tonia! I mean Seth having multiples, me and this gift I have and you, you have a gift too'

"And Peter....and Gabe...we are all, we should talk to mom about this one day. She knows Peter's family, he can absorb powers like a sponge"

"So if he is around me he could share my ability"

"Yes"

"What about that Sylar person, who was killing people for their abilities, do you think he would come after us!" Kayla looked scared, Tonia firmly told her "No, you don't have to worry about Sylar, trust me."

"It was Gabriel wasn't it?"

"Why do you think that?"

"I saw you guys out once. I was on the other side of the subway tracks, you looked so happy together, then I remember seeing him in the news and I heard mom on the phone once talking about him. Is he Noah's dad"

"Yes, and I promise you he won't hurt any of us"

"I have to assume Megan has an ability too, probably bitchiness"

"Kayla, she is still our sister, and if she does have an ability I'm sure she won't be sharing it with anyone anytime soon"

"It is probably something bad"

"It would explain SO much Kayla..."

When Antonia finally got up enough courage to call her sister and invite her over, she was disappointed that she was home. She was hoping to leave a message and avoid her. She came over to see her new nephew

"Megan"

"Tonia, you're looking well"

"Thanks, how are you?"

"Fine, so where's Noah. I bought him a rattle"

"Thanks, he is upstairs"

"Why do you have the nursery upstairs?"

'My bedroom is upstairs and I wanted him to be close to me, do you have any other questions about my parenting skills"

"I still can't believe you kept him"

"What do you mean?"

"Gabriel left you, you had a baby with a psychopath and now who knows how this child will grow up?"

"Noah will grow up to be a spectacular person, kind, ambitious, caring, loving and good all the things you are not"

"I'm trying to protect you, I know things, things you have no clue about. Things you are ill equipped to deal with"

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't understand"

Antonia grabbed her sister and threw her against the wall "TELL ME! WHY DO YOU HATE ME!"

"I'M TRYING TO KEEP YOU SAFE!!! and I'm trying to keep me safe and the world safe. I can't be around you"

"Why!?"

"You kill me"

"No, no I don't"

"You do. Dad saw it"

"Dad? Saw what"

"He was a precog, he saw all of our futures-mine, yours, Kayla and Seth's- and you kill me"

"The future is not written in stone...why would I kill you?"

"I try to kill you first'

"With what?"

"My power, I tried to fight the future. When you kill me, my life is full of love and happiness and there is so much devastation. You go to prison, they lock you up and experiment on you, far worse than anything anyone could imagine"

"So you are hateful, so you can change the future"

"Yes, Antonia, let's go outside and get some air"

"Okay, let's go"

Antonia picked up the baby monitor so she could hear if Noah woke up and needed her and they sat by the pool.

"Lay down on the chair Antonia and rest, you are so stressed"

Antonia was extremely suspicious of her sister, but felt a twinge of happiness. Maybe she was trying to protect her

She felt hands on the back of her neck, rubbing her shoulders and she looked up to see Peter "what are you doing here?"

"shhhhh don't talk" She closed her eyes and she felt her back being rubbed, she felt a sick sensation in her stomach. Her sister was planning something

"You're not Peter" Antonia said softly

She then heard screaming as she saw Noah on the grass bleeding, she started to shake and remind herself it was an illusion "Megan STOP IT!" when she saw Gabriel trying to cut her son's skull open she was able to use her own power to create a wind and knock her sister down. The illusion faded and she ran to her sister and wrapped her fingers around her neck "What are you doing"

"I'm not going to let you kill me Tonia, I won't let you!"

'I'm not going to kill you, I hate you so much"

Megan pushed her down "I have another trick if this doesn't work, I'm like mom, I can get inside your head....I can shut down your motor functions, make you do whatever I want...I can tell you to drown yourself, to kill your son or I can just kill you. You decide" she laughed sadistically

Antonia felt a searing pain in her head and felt as though she couldn't move. She summoned up her last bit of strength and brought forth a blast of lightening. Once she was conscious she saw her sister lying on the ground. She checked her pulse and she was gone. She laid in the warm grass shaking and crying, then called the police.

Antonia went to her sister's small funeral. It was deemed a freak accident and no one was to blame. Later during dinner, where family and friends paid their condolences her mother took her aside

"Tonia, do you understand what you did?"

"I killed her, I killed my sister"

"We knew it would happen, your father and I"

"Megan said he would see our futures, what can you do?"

"I'm a telepath"

"That explains so much, so if you knew, why didn't you stop me?"

"I knew your friend Peter growing up, I knew his family as well. Did you ever meet his parents?"

"I met Angela but never his father"

"Angela can dream the future and visit people in their dreams, isn't that amazing?"

"It is"

"Arthur Petrelli, Peter and Nathan's father is a powerful man, he can take powers, lock you inside your own head...and you know how dangerous Sylar was, or as you know him Gabriel"

"Yes"

"Your sister would have been 100 times worse had she lived, she could mutate abilities to meet her needs. If she ran into an unstable ability she could manifest it to be more terrible than anything they could have used it for. Like yours for example, you wouldn't want to see the destruction it would have caused"

"I still hate that I killed my sister"

"I know, you wouldn't be you if you didn't"

"Why did I end up having Noah with Sylar?"

"It protects us from another big threat, him. Next to the Petrelli's the Nakumaruas and the Parkman's we are pretty powerful. "

"I see, let's get back inside I'm in desperate need of hard alcohol" She kissed her mom on the cheek and went to get some food

Once Antonia was finished with the story she saw that Sylar was sitting very silently on the couch

"It's pretty amazing, how this all came together" he said

"Yes, it really is"

"I knew there was something about you, from the first moment I met you. We should go and get Luke, and then I'm going to meet my dad soon!" He breathed in sharply and they got Noah and left.


	5. Chapter 5

They said good bye after Luke was discharged from the hospital. Antonia was still concerned and realizing that people with abilities where being hunted she knew she had to make a drastic decision. She called her mother to come and get Noah and decided to follow Sylar and Luke on their journey.

"Antonia, you're crazy, you're going to get hurt, you have no business following them" Her mother said "You're safe here; no one is following you or Noah. Just stay here, live your life as normal as possible. Why do you want to put yourself on their radar?"

"There was a reason he came back into my life mom, I also think I can help in some way"

"Help what?"

"What if he tries to hurt Luke?"

"That's bull Antonia, you're not worried about Luke, you're worried about Gabriel. You want to protect him like you couldn't the first time"

"True"

"Why do you need so much excitement Antonia? Just stay"

"I can't, the person leading this program is Nathan, Nathan! Peter's brother, who is looking out for him?"

"You're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong....I'm not going to convince you not to go am I?"

"No mom" she kissed her mom on the cheek and headed out.

She recalled Sylar and Luke talking about the direction they were heading and just started driving. She was willing to drive for as long as she had to. As she was driving she got a phone call from her mother "Don't ask me Antonia....but I know where they are"

Her mother gave her the address and she plugged it into her GPS. "How would you know where they are?"

"I cannot tell you Antonia, just go, be safe and come back very soon"

"I will, love you"

When she arrived she saw the station wagon they were driving and Luke was sitting outside

"What's wrong"

"Long story, he's inside"

She tentatively walked inside and saw Sylar sitting on the ground with a little red toy car.

"What's wrong"

He slammed her against the wall with TK

"What are you doing here?" he demanded

"I came to help"

"You cannot help, you shouldn't be here"

"Let me go"

"No"

"They're going to keep coming after you if I don't help you"

"Let them, I need to find my father then this will all be over, you don't want to see this Ann, there's no reason"

"See what?"

"Me kill"

"Who are you going to kill"

"My father"

"why? let me down"

He released her and she fell to the ground. He sat back down on the floor and she sat across from him.

"You're going to kill your father?"

"Yes"

"What is your reason?"

"Why do you care? You don't know him, he's a monster, like me"

"What did he do to you?"

"He sold me for money and killed my mother"

"Virginia is your mother Gabe"

"No, my birth mother, it was in front of me when I was about 4 years old. Don't give me that look, I don't want your pity"

"I don't pity you"

"Why did you follow me?"

"I don't know"

"Is that what made me this way?" he then looked horrified "what if..."

"What"

"What if I hurt Noah?"

"You're not going to"

"What if I do"

"You are NOT going to hurt him, I won't let you"

"Will you kill me?"

"What?"

"If I try to hurt Noah, kill me"

"You can't die"

"I can if you shoot me in the back of the head or chop it off. I won't stop you, just kill me"

"I can't"

"You can, I deserve to die..." he was shaking and she could see him holding back tears, she wasn't quite prepared for this.

"If you try to hurt Noah, I will kill you. If you try to hurt me I will kill and you won't come back ever" She hated saying that, but it was true. She would be willing to hurt anyone who hurt her family, but she believed that there was a small part of him that wouldn't do it. It was the small part that she clinged to.

She saw that he was crying and then his cry turned to sobs and he put his head in her lap. She was seeing him at his absolute rawest and weakest and feared it.

Sylar lifted his head out of her lap and she took his hands "you don't have to do it; you don't have to kill him"

"It's easy for you to say, you had the perfect life"

"ME! No, no I didn't and stop feeling sorry for yourself. What happened was horrible, yes but you don't have to follow that path"

"I shouldn't have broken down, I'm sorry"

"You don't have to be sorry, I'll be here for you if you need me"

"I don't need anyone" he felt the familiar shake of his lie detecting ability but he knew he couldn't tell her that. Antonia smiled, knowing that he wasn't telling the truth.

"I can come with you"

"No, I need you to go home or at least go to a hotel, I can call you..."

"Gabriel..."

"Go to a hotel, do whatever you need to do, I'll call you and I'll come back for you"

She kissed him on the cheek "I love you, just know that"

"No you don't, trust me. You love what I can do, you love that I gave you Noah, you love that I make your knees weak when I kiss you and you love when I touch that one part of your thigh, but you don't love ME"

"Think what you want, I'll see you soon"

She walked out and searched for a hotel somewhere in town. She noticed that for a few miles there was a black car that seemed to be heading the way she was going. He blood turned to ice; they were after her, her mother warned her about this...that might mean they could find Luke or Gabriel as well.

She continued to drive at a normal speed, figuring that if she went any faster she would seem obvious. However the car continued to follow for several miles as she started to drive towards a hotel, she figured they wouldn't try to catch her like this in broad daylight. All she remembers is feeling the hard bang of the crash, she woke up dazedly in the back of a car, 2 swat members were in the back seat and she had a tube stuck up her nose.

"Why are you doing this? I have nothing..." she was coughing, she tried to summon her ability but couldn't "I'm harmless"

"Weather manipulation is not harmless, harboring a murderer is not harmless"

"Nathan....Nathan knows me, he won't.....' she was breathless and could barely movie

"You're a murderer, your power has caused damage beyond anyone's imagination"

"No, no"

She ended up in a cell, tied up with gloves over her hand. The chair was hard and the room was cold. She was terrified. She knew self defense, she took a class years ago after being attacked. That, coupled with her powers made her feel invincible. She needed a way out of this, she felt so far away. There was a guard near the door; she mustered a bit of strength

"Sir..."

"Shut up"

"What have they told you about us?"

"The things you can do, the citizens need to be protected. Ripping peoples skulls open, freezing people, time travel....where do you come from?"

"You don't have all of your facts"

He walked over and slapped her hard "I told you to shut...up" he said coldly. Antonia retaliated by spitting in his face. She was then punched and everything turned black for a minute. When she gained her composure she realized the restraints on her legs were rather loose, if she could maneuver herself out she might get out alive. She quietly tried to slip out of her ankle restraints. The guard was called out for a moment and that left her a short amount of time. She overheard the name "Traci Strauss" Traci...her friend, the one who helped her brother out of the country. Why was she here? She strained her neck up and saw the guard was talking to Nathan and a very short bald man, while short in stature looked like someone who might tear you into 2.

She mustered up enough strength to yell his name "Nathan!"

He walked in "Do I know you?"

"I'm a friend of Peter's, what did I do?"

"You killed your sister, you could be a real problem"

"My mother knows your family Nathan, you have to know what she would have done, it would have been horrible"

"You aligned yourself with dangerous people, what did you expect would happen?"

"I'll make you a deal Nathan, you let me and Traci out. I will bring you Sylar"

"Sylar?"

"Yes, I'll bring you to him on a silver platter"

"How can you get Sylar"

"I know where he is, I know his weak spots, I know how to hurt him and make him do whatever...you, want...."

She didn't budge and she looked him dead in the eyes "Let us find Sylar, he won't be able to hurt anyone again, surely he's the most dangerous, he's evaded you, he has been after your brother, and I understand even your daughter"

Nathan looked thoughtful for a moment "Fine, you go and get Sylar. Traci stays here"

"Let me see her Nathan or no deal"

"You have a minute"

She walked into a boiling hot room and saw Traci "Antonia, oh my God please help me!"

"I will, I have a plan"

"Why are YOU here?"

"I have an ability to"

"They're letting you go?"

"I'm tracking someone down, someone dangerous"

"Antonia! You're like us, you can't..."

"Traci! It has to be done" as she was talking to Traci she disconnected her tube and turned off her machine and lightly loosening the arm restraints. Antonia got up, smiled and left the room.

She was well equipped with a tracking system and weapons. She needed to get back to the border soon and make sure she was at the hotel when Gabriel called her. She saw she was only gone for about 6 hours and Nathan arranged a helicopter to take her where she need to be. Once the helicopter landed the pilot mentioned that there was a car rental place a half a mile away and he would be glad to accompany her and once they caught Sylar he would bring them both back. She asked for him to lead the way as they started walking. Realizing how deserted the area was casually walked behind him and surprised him with a sleeper hold "shhh.... don't fight it" she knocked him out and was grateful for her classes now. Maybe they didn't help her allude capture but getting rid of the pesky pilot was a piece of cake.

Once she arrived at the hotel she stretched herself out on the bed and called Kayla.

"Are you and mom okay?'

"We're fine, why?"

"I need to fall off of the radar for a while, they found me. You and mom need to get somewhere safe"

'Where are you Tonia"

'Somewhere far away, they let me go"

"Why! HOW!"

"I told them I was going to hunt down Sylar and bring him to them'

"Sylar, Noah's dad! The guy that you light up at, that made you a bumbling idiot when you first met him...Gabriel!"

'Yes"

"There's something wrong, I can tell"

"How is Noah"

"He's fine, he sleeps a lot. No first words or anything. Why are you doing this"

"Put mom on the phone Kayla, I love you"

"Tonia, it's me, come home"

"How did they know how to find me?"

"I don't know Tonia"

"I'm going to find Sylar and bring him in, they caught me. You need to get Noah and Kayla and go somewhere safe"

'The hospital called, they wanted to know how much longer you were on leave, you're not answering their calls."

'I'm going to bring Sylar back, alive and then we can finally be rid of him. We can terminate him, he's dangerous"

"Are they listening to you Tonia...darling, where is this coming from?" her mom asked softly. After years of using her ability, it has become so finely tuned that she at times didn't even need to think about using it, it just happened. She heard brief glimpses of her daughters thoughts and smiled "stay safe Tonia, I love you"

Kayla turned to her mom when she got off the phone "Has she lost her mind mom?"

"No Kayla, she knows what she's doing, she gets it from your father you know"

Antonia took a shower and changed. She ordered room service when she saw the phone ring. It was a private number. Antonia knew who it was

'Hello"

"Ann, where are you?"

"Somewhere quiet"

"Are you safe?"

"Yes, just resting"

"I'm going to come and see you now, stay put"

"Will do, see you soon"

Sylar thought she sounded a bit odd on the phone. He had her address in hand and went towards the hotel where she was staying. He had the answers that he needed now and he needed to see her.

When Sylar arrived at her hotel she had her gun on her, which she knew wouldn't do anything to him and she had hid the rest of her stuff under the bed.

He entered the room and locked the door behind him

"This is a nice room"

'Did you find your father"

"Have you been here since we last saw each other?"

"Yes" she was lying and he knew it

"Ann, you're in a locked room with a psychopathic lie detector, don't test it"

"Okay, I wasn't"

"What's wrong"

"Did you see your dad?"

"Are you okay?" he asked firmly

"Did you kill him?"

"Ann, I cannot talk about this now. We need to get out of here. We need to get you safely back home to Noah"

"Then what will you do?'

"I don't know yet"

He turned around for a second, letting his guard down and walked towards the bathroom. She pulled her gun out and got it ready to shoot. The gun felt greasy and cold in her hands. She had the perfect shot, if she wanted to kill him.

"They found me"

Sylar turned around and saw the pistol aiming at him. He TK'd it away from her "why would point that at me" he walked up to her, even with her 5 feet 8 inches he still towered over her

"How did you get out Ann" he looked angry

"I told them I was going to capture you" he laughed "I would like to see you try"

"They know you're dangerous and I used it to my advantage"

"You used ME! What kind of game are you playing" He was shouting and the rage in his eyes was terrifying. She kept her cool "How dare you, I thought you were one of the good ones, you're a liar, you disgust me. You leave our son to come out here just to what, how did you think this was going to end" He balled up electricity and shot it at her, she missed and he noticed she wasn't fighting back

"You think you're so tough, FIGHT BACK!" he threw her against the wall "You want to play with the big boys, then come ON show me what you've got"

Antonia got up and calmly looked at him "I didn't betray you Gabriel"

"Don't call me that you horrible bitch"

"Gabriel"

'SHUT UP!" and he raised his hand start to cut into her forehead, she used her power to knock him over

"Listen to me, Gabriel. please"

"I am done listening to you" he was angry, so angry that he didn't use his ability to see if she was telling the truth. He calmed down for a second "You left Noah, you couldn't have just went home and kept him safe"

"He wasn't going to be safe, not with the government after us; I saw what they were doing, first hand. It is 100 times worse than the Company. None of us will have a normal life, I need to protect you and my family"

"I don't need protecting" he scoffed at her

"Maybe not"

"You need me to die, you want me to die, you really hate me Ann..."

"No, I don't hate you, I lied to them. Did you really think I would betray you like that"

He looked shocked and stared into her eyes for a second "No, maybe..." he said softly.

"We can do this, we can take them down. You might have your own agenda as Sylar but I know Gabriel...and I know that you know..."

"Let me get something for your head"

"Thanks"

"If we do this together, I need you to listen to me and not get in the way."

"That doesn't sound like a partnership"

"You can be as bad ass as you want Ann but at the end of the day I know more about this stuff than you do and whether you want to admit it or not you know I'm right"

"I know"

"I'm still pissed off at you Annie'

"I don't blame you"

"Were you going to shoot me?"

"Maybe"

"That would have been stupid"

"Yea, it would have, get cleaned up and then we can go"

He went in to take a shower and turned to her "Don't try anything funny, I am REALLY not in the mood for it"

She knew better not to follow him. She played a dangerous game, but she needed him to see that she could be as strong as him and that there was a reason he came back into her life. She may not have school plays and summers in Cape Cod and Paris, but maybe she would have her life back and have her Gabriel in it, whatever way she could.

She laughed "okay"

He entered the room after getting out of the shower and dropped his towel while drying off and turned to her wearing nothing but a smile. "It was a nice shower, nice and warm, hot "

"This is below you Gabriel"

"No it really isn't"

"You're too clever for this and high powered"

"Flattery will get you nowhere right now Ann, you need to earn back my trust"

"I didn't betray you Gabriel, you know this. I did it to get out. Why they let me go to hunt you down, I don't know. Maybe Nathan felt bad for me, who knows"

"Did you sleep with Nathan too? That's how you get your way" he was toying with her now and it bordering on cruel

"No, I didn't sleep with Nathan or his brother or his father..."

"I should hope not" He crawled onto the bed and hovered over her "to think of all the things I wanted to do to when I got back here"

"Gabriel, get dressed and let's go"

"My back hurts, rub it..now" She realized they wouldn't be leaving until she placated him. It was interesting that he felt she used this to her advantage while he seems to initiate these meetings quite a bit.

She knew he was mad and lashing out. She massaged his back with great care, needing the knots out. She rubbed his arms and against her better judgment went to kiss the back of his neck

"I told you, I'm not in the mood for that, now the front" He laid down on his back and stared her, this glowering dark stare that made her feel like he was looking into her soul.

Her hands worked slowly down his face, arms, she went to rub his chest and she noticed his eyes closing, and he was smiling a bit and he was becoming aroused. He hands went down his legs and the inside of his soft thighs.

"Do you want me now Ann" he asked and pulled her close to him, his eyes mixed with lust and a bit of anger. His tone was firm and he sounded cold

"No"

"You're lying to me, if you ever want me like this again you cannot play games with me" his hands trailed up and down over her arms and he pulled her close "do you think I don't know how to use what I've got just as well as you, I'm not naive" He sat up against the bed post "Now I'm going to get dressed now"

"If you treating me like that, you'll have no one to take care of you"

"Plenty of people want to take care of me Ann" She smirked at him "Get over here" He stood at the foot of the bed and let her take care of him. She heard him gasp and moan, his legs shook as he ran his fingers through her hair, he hated when he gave into these instincts, but with her it always felt right.

They were both control freaks and this game they were playing wasn't going to end for a long time and for some reason he didn't mind.

They got into the car with all of the fancy weapons and gadgets that she got from Nathan and drove in silence for a bit. Antonia stared out of the window quietly and let Sylar drive, she didn't want to argue and was feeling very tired.

"So, do you have any pictures of Noah from when he was born?" Sylar asked, he seemed genuinely interested

"I do, Kayla made a video of him when he got home"

"Who was in the delivery room with you?"

"My mom, Kayla and Peter"

"Peter...." he looked quite disappointed, she didn't know the past between them and he felt annoyed that he was there for his son's birth.

"Peter's Noah's godfather, Kayla is the Godmother"

"So he is Uncle Peter in a way? I thought he was my brother for a while"

"What do you mean"

"Virginia and Martin were my adopted parents, as you know. Angela told me that I was her son, but I wasn't"

"Why did she lie?"

"She manipulates people, I don't have to worry about that anymore now"

"That's pretty cruel of her" She went to reach for his hand but he pulled it away, so she put her hand on his knee.

"Did you and Peter sleep together?"

"No, nothing ever happened between us"

"So you didn't date after me? Antonia was not entirely sure why he was so interested but at least he was talking to her

"I didn't date after you Gabe, I was kind of busy. Did you?"

"There were a few women...a lovely Dominican woman named Maya who helped me get my powers back and Elle" he smiled

"Elle's dead now?"

"Yes"

"How did she die Gabriel"

He breathed in sharply "Do you want to know?"

"Yes, did you love her?"

"As much as I could, but she betrayed me. She lied, I killed her father...it wasn't going to work"

"You killed her father!"

"Yes"

"How did she die?"

"I killed her Ann, I sliced her head open. I couldn't have someone do that to me again, like to me, keep things from me. She's one of the reasons that I became the way that I did"

"If I would came in that day, things would have been so different I think" Antonia couldn't help but feel nervous, the truth is he was volatile. He wasn't the Gabriel she knew.

"When we're done, I want to go back and see Noah"

"She's with my mom"

"I'll get to meet her finally"

"Have you ever met the parents Gabriel?"

"Yes, contrary to popular belief I have dated, I dated before you and even had sex before you"

"I don't deny that. I'm just the best you ever had"

"You are really conceited" he rolled his eyes at her but smiled.

"I still have a headache from your little telekenisis trick"

"It hurts, so does getting blasted by thousands of volts of electricity, getting hit in the gut with a parking meter, getting stabbed by a sword, getting a spinal tap without being numb, getting burned in a fire, your neck broken......."

"I would say all of those things would hurt horribly"

"Well, all of those things happened to me, so your headache is not a big deal"

"You win"

"I always win Ann"

She smiled at him and they continued driving "Maybe you win because I let you"


	6. Chapter 6

Antonia wasn't sure how they ended up in DC so fast. She was standing in front of Building 26 with Sylar and he turned to her and pushed her hair out of her face. He kissed her on the lips "they know me weakness, I can't have that" he whispered in her ear. "What is your weakness Gabriel" His lips trailed down her neck "you". He stood behind her and tied her arms behind her back, she then found herself on a bed surrounded by people with tubes up their nose and machines beeping in harmony. She was afraid, she saw Sylar come in again, his eyes were cold and she felt a wave of terror shake through her body "I'm going to hurt you" she hissed to him "I'm going to make you pay"

He laughed at her, "no, come with me' he dragged her into a room with a short bald man, she saw that there was a chair and a table. On top of the table there were needles, pliers, knifes and a gun. Sylar left her with him and he started to cut into her first with the knife, she felt her skin blazing with pain. She recalls getting out of the chair, but it is fuzzy, she lifts the gun to his head and fires several times...she sees his blood splatter all around the room. Sylar enters again and smiles "you're like me now, is it getting easier?"

Antonia felt the drugs wear off and she used her power to knock him down, she somehow dragged him to the chair and tied him up. He regained consciousness and saw that he was tied up "try to use your abilities now Sylar"

"You always call me Gabriel"

"You're a monster, and you need to feel the pain, all the pain you caused people. Gabriel is dead and you will be too in a while, but I need you to suffer, horribly" she said coldly "You can't heal now" She started to saw into his body with the knife, smiled sadistically as she picked up one of the pliers "I can start with some of the body parts you like the most" and winked at him 'beg me Sylar, beg me to save your life"

"I won't beg you, what happened to you Annie?"

"You, you happened to me"

"Please don't"

She took the pliers and started with his toes and worked her way up. She heard his screams and somewhere from a distance she felt her body shake, abruptly, everything became warm again.

"Annie, Ann. Wake up!"

She sat up abruptly and saw she was still in the car. Gabriel had parked at the side of the road "You were crying, were you having a bad dream?"

"It was a dream; it was so real"

He brushed her hair off of her face "it was just a dream, not real. What was it about"

"You, you tried to kill me and then I, I tried to kill you. It was horrible"

"You're fine" He smiled at her "we're almost there"

"My dad was a precog you know"

"You think you saw some sort of future?"

"Maybe, Gabriel it was real..."

"No, it wasn't. You have no reason to be afraid, just calm down. You don't have to be afraid of me."

Antonia was still apprehensive, she couldn't help but shake the fact that the dream she had could come true and feared that it might.

"Gabe, are we ever going to talk about your father, or the bunny in the back seat?"

"I didn't kill my father; he'll die a long, slow, lonely and painful death all on his own. He is a taxidermist and well....that's where the rabbit came from. It's not important" He glanced over at her "I noticed you still wear the watch I gave you, it's not even working anymore"

"I never got it fixed"

"You just tell time with your blackberry now?"

"I have an IPhone now Gabe"

"Fancy"

"You know Gabriel, my sister had more than one ability"

He sighed "it is so rare, I was thinking before we head out to DC we could go and see Noah"

"That sounds nice, he's with my mom."

"You know, Angela Petrelli had precognitive dreaming Ann'

"I know"

"If you have it, maybe you're related to the Petrelli's which wouldn't be good, not at all"

She glared at him "I....did...NOT....sleep...with...PETER!"

He laughed "I know, just teasing you. Be happy with your one ability, you don't need more"

"Killing got easy for me in my dream"

"Killing shouldn't get easier for you, ever. I won't let it" he paused" Ann, my plan isn't going to make you too happy'

"What is it"

"I'm going to see Danko; I'm going to join him and I need you"

"Gabe! He is after us, he's the one that attacked me!"

"You got out because you told them you were going to bring me in, I'll use that to my advantage"

"He worked under Nathan, Gabe, if I can get to Nathan while you get to Danko it could work"

"We're here, we shouldn't stay long" Gabriel ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath "let's go"

"You do realize she's going to make us stay for dinner"

"That's fine, I'm hungry" he took her hand and they walked in

Her sister was at the desk in the living room reading something in German She saw Antonia and ran to her "You're okay!"she hugged her tightly "who is this?"

"This is Gabriel, Gabe this is my sister Kayla"

"Nice to meet you Kayla"

"You're Sylar!"

"I'd prefer if you called me Gabriel"

"I'd prefer not" Kayla smiled at him "So you have a lot of power, wanna see mine?"

"Sure"

They went over to her desk and they started to talk. She didn't seem scared like she did when she first heard of him. Maybe seeing that Antonia was okay calmed her fears.

"I'll tell you a secret Sylar, I really love my ability" Kayla said softly "but I don't use it for anything bad, I don't know why people with abilities are being hurt now"

"You don't have to worry that; I'll make sure nothing happens to you or your family. I'll tell you a secret now, I love my abilities too Kayla"

"You stole these abilities though?" Kayla was inquisitive being that she wanted to be a journalist

'I did, but I care about your sister. I used to think I had to kill to get my abilities, but I can sometimes get that through empathy"

"Like Peter?"

Sylar clenched his teeth "yes, like Peter. It's easier to get abilities by looking at someone's brain, at least for me"

"You understand everything, so do I, but it's different for me"

"How?"

"I understand languages, how people act, how to reach out to them. You seem to understand more of mechanics"

"I can see how people work too"

They continued to talk and Antonia was with her mom. She told her mom about the dream

"Tonia, Megan did have more than one. You could very well have a more mental based ability too"

"I don't want this one, how can I make it stop?"

"No matter how hard you try, the future is going to happen"

They all sat down for dinner, they were almost like a normal family. Later in the night they watched Noah's birth video. Antonia sat on Gabriel's lap while they watched it "Annie, you keep telling me that you don't expect me to want to marry you or have a life with you, you never ask me what I want"

"Do you want to see my bedroom?" Antonia asked with a sly little smile, she took his hand and led him quietly up to her old room. She pulled him in for a kiss and he closed the door behind him. She ripped his shirt off and pushed him on her bed "You have a nice room Ann, did you bring a lot of boys up here?"

"No, never" she undid his pants and was pleasantly surprised at his lack of underwear, she grazed her lips against his neck, down his chest, taking time at all of the places he liked. "Is this one of your fantasies Annie" he asked softly as he started to unhook her bra, he kissed her "I can make you so happy baby, just let me make you happy" he pushed his weight on to her "we don't want to wake anyone" she knew that quiet wasn't in their vocabulary when it came to their encounters, she was surprised by the gentleness. While he loved using his powers, he had to admit that there was something nice just touching her and making her smile with just his hands and lips. When they were done he pulled her close and held her, his hand still between her legs, he was kissing her and she whispered

"What do you want Gabe?" she asked him

"Maybe I want you, maybe I want a life with you one day?"

"Really? How would that work, when you'll be 30 forever?"

"We'll figure it out"

"we had better go now" she said, letting him go and getting dressed, they said goodbye to her family and Noah and arrived in DC a couple hours later.

She knew she wasn't sleeping but the daydream continued. It was a wedding. Antonia was in a long off white gown with flowers in her hair. Her sister and Traci were bridesmaids and Noah was a ring bearer. She felt a twinge in her belly and looked down and saw that she had a little bump Noah looked up at her and said "don't give me a sister mommy" she walked down the aisle in the small garden with a big smile on her face. Before she could see the groom she saw flashes of blue light and the lights flickered, gun shot rang out and she snapped out of it.

"Where did you just go?' Gabriel asked

"Nowhere, just thinking about the plan"

"Don't worry about it until morning, I have to head out, stay here at the hotel for now and keep a low profile, I'll be back soon"

"Gabriel, am I ever going to be able to see?"

"See what?" he asked, a bit annoyed because he was in a rush to get to Danko's apartment

"How you get an ability?"

"You don't really need to see it'

"I'm a doctor you're forgetting, I see things like that ALL the time? You think the brain is bad, try looking at intestines, not pretty"

"It's different"

"How?"

"Because I rip the skull open, it's messy, and there is screaming and a lot of pain for that person"

"Have you ever given birth?"

"No"

"If you can get through birth and perform surgery on an erupted intestine you can get through that, I can see it Gabe"

"I don't want you to"

Sylar paused and it seemed like forever "I want to talk to you about Elle"

"Why, why would I want to talk about her Gabe?" Antonia had no interest in hearing about the blond she saw him with that day in the shop, she didn't hold any ill will towards her, especially since she was dead and she didn't want to speak badly of someone who couldn't defend themselves.

"You need to realize the connection her and I had, why she was different."

"Gabriel, this is a bad time to talk about it"

"No, I need to get this out Annie.....when Elle arrived I was so angry with you, I didn't know you broke my heart because you were trying to protect me. I thought you just didn't care about me. Elle, she didn't have a life like yours. Yes you both have abilities but your family was supportive. She wasn't normal, she had no idea how to be normal, but you...you had so much love growing up. She never left the confines of the company"

"She still betrayed you, she still lied. Your past doesn't have to make you what you are Gabe"

"Spoken like someone who hasn't had anything bad happen to them. You went to school, you traveled, you were in plays, you got oatmeal cookies when you were 5"

"Gabriel, so did you! Virginia loved you and cared for you There was no abuse or neglect, you just felt pushed to being something you didn't think you could be!"

"I am just saying that Elle was like me, but in the end I just couldn't have her around"

"Gabriel, you do realize that my life wasn't perfect? I hardly dated before you and I didn't after and do you want to know why? You were the second person I was with. The first person I didn't have a choice in the matter"

"What?"

"Yea, I didn't chose to lose my virginity in an alley by some creep who thought a coffee date meant an open invitation between my legs. Then I killed my sister, was kidnapped by Danko's agents and found out the man that I loved was a super powered serial killer...yea it is all rainbows and frickin oatmeal cookies"

"Do you know who did this to you"

"It is not important, it's taken care of. I could have killed him with my power"

"If I met him I would make his suffer, horribly for what he did to you Annie. I'm sorry" He looked angry, even though he has done some horrible things he drew a line, he never wanted to intentionally hurt someone. He always felt as though what he did was for the great good. He held her close to him "I would make him pay, I wouldn't just kill him Annie, I would do horrible things to him. I'm so sorry"

"It's not your fault"

'I did love you back then Ann"

"You love me now Gabriel"

"Yea" he smiled at her.

"It's hard to say it? You said it before." She asked him quietly

"No, I don't remember saying anything like that to you"

"I remember Gabriel, it's okay, you don't have to say a thing"

They walked into the building, Sylar to go meet Danko and Antonia to find Nathan and Traci.

They later met at a restaurant to discuss the day's events and they wanted to look inconspicuous, they were able to wander around freely in DC without anyone bothering them.

She made reservations at a nice restaurant downtown. She was surprised to see Gabriel in a suit his hair flopping in his face; she sometimes forgets how handsome he is.

"You picked a nice place Ann, it reminds me of where we went on our first date"

He pulled a chair out for her and they examined the menus

"We looks so normal" Antonia smooths out invisible lines in her skirt "did anything happen with Danko"

"So far everything's under control, you do know Nathan is gone?"

"Yes, he flew away suddenly AND literally" Antonia laughed, sometimes she had to chuckle when she talked about their abilities because she is sure it sounds crazy to people without. "I did get to see Traci, and I have a feeling she is going to be an excellent partner"

Sylar smiled "So we can have a basically nice, normal dinner together?"

"It looks like it, it is kind of like we're dating again, except this isn't a vacation.." she trailed off

"No, it isn't, but let's just relax tonight" he took her hand 'we can be normal tonight"

The next day they arrived at Building 26 to solidify their plans. Only a week ago she was there being held and now she had this feeling of remorse. She didn't want to hurt anyone, she wanted to stop this, she only hoped that they could trust her.

As she was walking through the room where she was held she noticed someone, someone she had not seen in a long time. Her blood became ice and she tried not to shake. It was the man who attacked her. How dare he have an ability, he didn't deserve such a gift! She restrained herself from going in for a moment but decided to. If one of her dreams had to come true, she wanted to be torturing him and not Gabriel.

She took a breath and walked in "Remember me?"

"No, I have no clue, why are you holding us?"

"Do you remember a man named Seth Ceppaglia?" she asked coldly

"We were in a show together, I was a lighting designer and he was a huge diva"

She laughed "yea, that was my brother...but he had the right to be a diva, he was amazing"

"Your brother?"

"Do you remember now"

She blasted him with a gust of wind and lightening. "I am SO glad these rooms are sound proof, shall we continue?" he looked terrified now.

"I'm different now Antonia"

'No, no you're not. So why are you here?"

"I have a power"

"What is that, being a sadistic son of a bitch"

"No, I can warp reality"

"Oh, interesting. I have weather manipulation and I can dream the future NOW since we have caught up, we have unfinished business"

She took the pliers off the table "Where should we start?"

"Antonia, this isn't you...I don't know what I was thinking, it was horrible"

"I WAS 18!"

"I know"

She bent over and whispered in his ear "When I am done with you, I know someone who is going to LOVE to take your power and from what I understand, it is not pleasant" She smiled "I cannot make you understand what you did to me, but you can feel the pain, you can beg me to stop hurting you...and maybe I will, but...probably not" she said matter of factly

She began at his toes, attempting to pull them off proved to be difficult and he was screaming in pain. She realized that while she wanted him to suffer, she wasn't a sadistic person. He was begging for her to stop. She debated for a moment, she was wondering what the ramifications would be if she had Gabriel come in. She didn't want to do to him what Elle did and feed his hunger, and she knew that Gabriel would kill him.

She continued to spray him down with water and wind, he was gasping for breath and suddenly she was stopped. She had the all too familiar sensation of telekenisis

"What the hell is going on!" Sylar walked towards her "what are you doing?"

"He is the one who attacked me, I'm making him pay and suffer"

The look on his face was one she had never seen before; she heard crunching of bones and screaming. He knelt in front of him "Now, the real torture will begin, get out of her Annie"

She walked towards the door as he was using telekinesis to break his arms, legs and she saw an ability that she had never seen before. It was a scream, it was so loud she felt as though her head was going to cave in

"You think you're so tough, you can't even fight back"

"You're Sylar right, you're the same as me. We both do the same thing. You get powers and I get a piece of ass"

"I wish you wouldn't have said that" Sylar took a knife and stabbed him in what looked like his lower abdomen, but she wasn't completely sure.

"I have a power too" he gasped

"Do you?" Sylar turned around for a second "why are you still here, you don't need to see this" he looked horrified for a second

Antonia was strangely calm and silent "leave Annie, wait outside the door

She left and looked through the window as Sylar cut his head open and started to examine his brain. She was intrigued, it took her 8 years of school and years as a resident and she wouldn't be able to have that knowledge of the mind like he does.

Sylar wiped his hands off and left "How can you look at me Ann"

She hugged him "How could I not?"

"What he said, he's right about one thing. What I have done to get powers, it is the same thing"

"No, no it's different"

"Ask Claire Bennett, she was the age you were when he attacked you. Sure I let her heal and I left her alone but still I scared her and stalked her... I didn't mean for her to feel so afraid, in her own house, she couldn't be safe" he walked away from her.

She followed him back to their hotel. He was sitting on the bed drinking some sort of clear liquid, she hoped it was just water but she saw the empty bottle of vodka next to him

"You know healing makes it impossible to get drunk" he looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders

She sat next to him "do you think drinking is going to help, we can do shots together?"

"How can you joke Annie?"

"Gabriel, I don't know a lot about what happened when we parted ways but I do know how you are now, and if I was afraid of you or angry I wouldn't stay around you, I'm certainly intelligent and I'm okay being alone, but I really need to do this with you"

"How can you not be horrified, I'm the same as the person who attacked you"

"You're not, I can't explain the difference now, I know there is one...." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. It was just a gut feeling she had. She wasn't happy with the things he has done, and felt bad for this Claire Bennett but it was hard to explain to Gabe the difference in her mind. "I'm not happy about what was done, I don't understand killing for power or scaring people, but I have seen another side to you"

"I don't think I'm ever going to change Ann, I really fear that Noah might have inherited something from me, I need to be away from both of you for your own good, you should go home"

"I go home and we lose Traci, she isn't going to work with you"

'I don't care about Traci, I care about you" She went to kiss him on the cheek and he turned away from her. "Don't" she cupped her hand around his chin and kissed him 'Gabriel, I love you"

He looked down and started to take her clothes out of the closet and grabbed her suitcase. "Annie, please go" he said softly

"shh, stop this, you've been drinking. We'll talk about it in the morning" He suddenly felt light headed and ran to the bathroom to throw up. She knelt by him and held his hair back "when my sister was 15 she got into the wine and I don't think she has drank since" She rubbed his back and got him out of his clothes and cuddled next to him "We'll talk more tomorrow"

"Ann..."

"Hmmm...what Gabe?"

"I love you too" She held him close and fell asleep until morning.

The next morning they awoke with the sun streaming into the room. Antonia quietly ordered room service while Gabriel slept. Once the food arrived she started to wake him up. Sylar was startled out of a dream by the feeling of warm lips sucking softly on him, he stroked her hair "That feels so good" he groaned and stretched out and began to arch his back. "Don't stop...do I smell waffles?" She looked up at him and whispered "I have a special treat for you" She got up and wheeled the food cart over "Come back here Annie, finish what you started" She fed him a strawberry dipped in cream and kissed him then she began to run the juice down his chest, licking it off. "Do you like this?" His breath was becoming fast "I need you Annie, I need you now"

He took some of the cream and rubbed it down her chest and gently sucked if off and she slowly climbed on top of him and rotating her hips "Do you like your breakfast?" He kissed her hard and flipped her over, spreading her legs wider. When they were done they fed each other the rest of their meal

"You know what I want to do today Gabe" Her hands were still trailing over his body and she kissed his neck, nipped at his shoulders

"What?" his hands had worked his way down her chest and between her legs, she was still gasping as they spoke

"I want to stay in bed all day and just do this ALL day long....get to know you better, concentrate on that part of your neck you like so much..." She pulled him in for a deep kiss

"We have so much to do, but not for a while, and we have a Jacuzzi..." he picked her up over his shoulders to go and christen their hot tub with the window view.

They went their separate ways and Antonia was just about to meet with Traci when she received a message on her cell phone. It was from someone named "Rebel" and it said "Go to Los Angeles, hurry you are in danger"


	7. Chapter 7

Antonia was perturbed by the message from Rebel; she did not know anyone in Los Angeles and was not sure who she was in danger of. She thought everything was going as planned and once Danko was out of the picture they would all be safe again and able to live their lives normally, or however normally they could.

Later in the day she saw Gabriel and she told him about the message she received.

"Danko and I are going to LA anyway, there is a shape shifter that we need to catch" Gabriel seemed apprehensive about her going, he didn't really want her involved in this life and thought it would best that she go back to work and her family, there wasn't any need for her to keep putting herself into danger.

"I'm going with both of you, Gabe, I know it's a change in plan but I think we need to follow this through"

They arrived in Los Angeles late into the night. Once she got off the place she noticed Rebel had sent her another message with an address and told her to go there immediately.

She arrived and saw her sister and brother; they were with a group of other people she had never met before.

"Kayla, what is going on, why are you doing"

"Tonia, we couldn't tell you before, but a group of us are trying to stop what Nathan and the government is doing. Do you see Micah over there, he is Traci's nephew, he can talk to machines. Molly can find anyone in the world and we are working with Noah and Angela"

"Who is Noah, Kayla?" she was still in awe of what was going on and why this had anything to do with her. Antonia had her own plans with Gabriel to stop this.

'Noah Bennett is Claire's dad"

"Claire, I have heard of her"

"How, how do you know about me?" Antonia saw a petite, young blond about 17 years old. Green eyes, lighter than hers but still a lovely person

"Claire..." Antonia whispered "We have a mutual..." she trailed off not knowing what to call him "I know Gabriel"

"Who is Gabriel?" she asked

Kayla took Claire's hand "Sylar, he's not dead Claire, he's alive and in Washington DC now"

"I killed him Kayla! I saw the building burn, my grandmother said they found dental records...but I had this feeling I KNEW it" Claire turned to Antonia

"How do YOU know about him?"

"Claire..." she still didn't know what to say to her

Seth came to the rescue "Basically, long before any of us knew about this Sylar, he was just Gabriel Gray and my sister Tonia here, she dated him and they have a son"

"Sylar has a child?" she looked dumb founded "WHAT gives him the right to have a CHILD?"

"I understand why you are upset, I understand better than you think Claire" Antonia wanted to comfort her, she sat down with Claire and talked to her

"Claire I have an ability too, and I think you helping like this makes you such a strong person. I was attacked too when I was your age and it is hard to understand how anyone like that can have any good in them..."

"So he is in Washington DC right now?" Claire asked

"No, he's here"

"WHAT"! She heard Kayla exclaim "Why, he should not be here Tonia"

"We're partners in this"

"Yea and Danko is not to be trusted I was trying to get you away from him"

"He's here Kayla, I feel so stupid...."

"You don't think he is going to try to kill Sylar the minute he is not important to him anymore?"

"Kayla, how did you get involved"

"It was mom's idea, she and Angela go way back"

"Okay, I need to find Gabriel"

Antonia and Seth went on a search throughout LA to look for Gabriel, since Nathan had stepped down it was just him they had to worry about. Once he was out of the picture and their abilities were out in the open things would be different.

Molly found them at a bar where they were supposedly looking for someone. She had a feeling any power would be irresistible to Gabriel, but she wasn't worried about that.

On the car ride over she was able to talk to Seth more

"How are you feeling?" she asked

"Better, I can control my ability AND I even have an audition when I get back"

"I'll be in the front row Seth"

'That's if I get it" he chuckled

"You'll get it, you're the best"

"I am" he playfully tousled her hair and rolled his eyes "I'm okay...So...you really care about this guy?"

"He's Noah's dad, I have to"

"I'm glad he's with mom now, are you still going to have a job after this Tonia?"

"Yea, I have a lot of vacation time" she smiled at her brother as the parked the car

They separated while looking for Gabriel. All they saw was Danko and all Antonia remembers is a searing pain in her chest then, nothing.

Seth called Kayla on her cell phone calmly "Kayla, put Molly on the phone please"

"Are you okay Seth?"

His voice was shaking "I need for you to put Molly on the phone and then I am going to come back" He asked Molly to find Gabriel; he was just down the street. He saw him as he was waiting in a coffee shop, probably awaiting word from Danko

Seth approached him "Excuse me, are you Gabriel?"

"Why?" he asked coldly, he didn't recall who this person was.

"I'm Antonia's brother, she's dead"

His knees buckled and he felt like someone punched him in the stomach

"No, she can't be" Sylar used his lie detecting ability to see it was the truth "Where is she?" "How did this happen?" he asked coldly

"It was Danko, he saw her and he shot her in the chest, she was dead before she hit the ground?"

"Why was she there, why wasn't she with Rebel or Traci or WHOEVER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KEEPING HER SAFE" he was screaming at him now

"She went to stop him"

Sylar was holding back tears "I need to see her"

They went out to the car and he held her in his arms and stroked her hair "Please, please come back...Annie, please" he kissed her on her forehead

"What happened to Danko"

"I shot a couple of times I think I got him, I don't know"

"You don't KNOW, your sister is dead, and you don't know' he felt nauseated and empty much like when Elle died, only this felt worse, it felt like when his mom died...

"She was going to work with us, with Kayla and Claire"

Sylar looked up at him "Claire Bennett?"

"Yes"

"Where is she? Take me to her NOW"

They drove back to the apartment. Antonia had stopped bleeding and she looked so peaceful "It wasn't supposed to end this way, you weren't supposed to leave me so soon. What about our family.....please come back Annie, please" he was still holding her tightly, she carried her upstairs, Seth tried to stop him

"I don't want Kayla to see her sister dead"

"Bring her into an empty apartment, she has her medical kit in her suitcase, she always does. I will get Claire" Sylar said firmly

"Claire won't speak to you" Seth looked shocked

"I will make her, I don't care"

He burst in the door and as soon as he saw Claire he TKd her to the wall "I need you"

"Like I would help you Sylar, leave me alone!"

"No, you don't understand, your blood heals and I need your blood for someone"

Kayla looked horrified "Whose hurt?"

Sylar turned to Kayla "You're sister is dead, but Claire, she can save her"

Kayla started to cry "You, why did you come with her? Why did you bring Danko? You said you wouldn't hurt us Sylar"

"I know, so I'm trying to fix it" He looked back at Claire "All she wanted to do was help people, she needs to be okay, she didn't deserve this, she's good. She has a son Claire, she has a family, she's a doctor...the only thing she did wrong was care about me. IF you save her, I will leave you and your family alone but I swear if you don't, I PROMISE you that your life will be hell forever, and I do mean forever Claire"

Claire knew he was serious. She knew what she had to do. They went into the vacant apartment and injected Claire's blood into Antonia.

Seth lead Claire out of the room so Gabriel could be alone with her. He sat by her side and held her hand. He saw the bullet pop out and heard her cough. She looked up at him and smiled "was I sleeping?"

"You're okay, oh thank you...." he kissed her on the forehead "it was all dark Gabriel, then I saw my father, I was dead?'

"For a bit" he said softly "you're okay now, I need to get you home, please just stay far away from this mess" He fiddled around in his pocket "I bought you something" he kissed her

"Wait, slow down Gabriel. I was dead? How did I come back?"

"Claire's blood"

"How did you get Claire's blood?"

"She gave it to you" he started to clean her up a little "You're okay Annie, you need to rest, I'll tell your family"

'Who killed me?"

"Danko"

"So what do we do about this Gabe"

"WE don't do anything"

Antonia stood up

"Be reasonable about this Gabriel, I am the only one who gives a damn about you right now. If someone does something to you and you can't heal, who is going to help?" She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Just be normal Antonia, just because you can't kill, or run around saving people doesn't make your not special. Annie, just go, you have our son, you have a job" He was pleading with her right now and he needed her to understand that he would be fine alone

"I won't be able to get to you on time if someone shoots you in the back of the head Gabe" She stroked his face and kissed him. "We keep trying to get rid of each other, maybe we should just work together"

"You died today; it was the worst pain I have ever felt since my mom died. Let's go see your family, we'll decide what to do after"

"You do a lot for me Gabriel, let me help you"

"I don't do that much, just take you to dinner and have a copious amount of sex with you"

She laughed "Right, right"

"Before we go back to the apartment, I want to give you something, I saw it and it reminded me of those earrings I bought you in SoHo" She remembers, he bought her a 2 dollar pair of red stone earrings shaped like flowers. They were polished and looked like rubies to her.

He took out a platinum band with an intricate array of rose quartz, diamonds and pearls, it looked vintage and unique.

"Thank you Gabe" She for a moment looked a bit anxious and he smiled at her.

"Do you like it?' he asked

'I do' she was smiling from ear to ear and for a second was waiting for an inevitable question when one gets a ring, but it didn't happen

"Let's go see your family"

When she walked in her sister ran to her and hugged her. She hugged back and thanked Claire for what she had done. Her sister saw the ring and screamed "YOU'RE ENGAGED!!!!"

"No, no Kayla, no" she shook her head lightly

"Sorry, so what was heaven like. I am sure you didn't see Megan, she is you know.."

"KAYLA! She is still your sister. It was fine, but I would rather be here with you guys"

They talked for a little while longer and she noticed Gabriel had left without saying good bye. She wanted to run after him but she had begun talking to Claire and everyone and she thought that he would be okay without her for now. However, if he wasn't back in an hour she was going to look for him.

He arrived in a dingy parking lot. It had gotten colder and he shoved his hands in his pocket. Danko approached Sylar

"So, we're almost done" Sylar towered over Danko it was almost comical.

"We had a deal Danko, I don't just work with anyone, I didn't decide to team up with you because I believe if what you're doing. I'm one of them, we had a deal, you touched my family, you killed someone I care about."

He didn't even let him speak, he blasted him with so much electricity no one would even know it was him. All that was left was ashes.

When he returned he brought Antonia into another room.

"So Danko is gone now"

"Okay, now what do we do Gabe"

"We have to get back to DC for one thing, I'm sure his agents or whoever are going to be looking for whomever killed him"

"Probably, and after that?" she sat him down

"I was hoping we could get a house and raise Noah and we could do our own thing"

"I see, Gabe I see"

"We could go to Europe, wherever you want to go. I don't think I will ever change Annie and I can't go back"

"We'll figure it out Gabe"

"I wanted to try something, that power with warping reality, is there a place you have always wanted to go?"

"Fiji would be nice right now Gabe" she smiled and nestled her head against his shoulder. He kissed her and when they broke away she saw clear blue water, felt the warm breeze and looked down at them wearing their bathing suits and sitting on a blanket surrounded by exotic food and fruity drinks

"This is amazing!" she gasped "So we are IN a hotel room but I am seeing...."

He silenced her with a kiss "I would do anything for you"

"Can I really eat the food?" she giggled a little

He laid down and pulled her on top of him. She was sure they were actually on the floor but to her they were on a white sandy beach and she ran her fingers through his hair and he sighed as she ran her fingers down his body, taking in every inch of him "you're really hot, do you know that?" she asked him and he rolled his eyes at her "shhh, just kiss me Annie, you're ruining the moment" he hated how much he ached for her sometimes, he hated that he loved her. He wanted to talk to her more about Elle, could he have loved her more than Antonia, he sometimes thought about that Elle kissed different than her, Elle didn't run her fingers through his hair, but Antonia wasn't Elle and it was hard on him, he cared about Elle but with Antonia he could be himself and when he was with her he felt nearly human. "I love you Annie, but if you ever leave me like that again I don't know what I will do"

After they were done, they were transported back to real life. They were naked with their clothes strewn about the room. They entered the next room to spend some time with Kayla, her sister quietly said to her "you're button is crooked, you know I hope you have protection" she winked at her sister and shook her head.

"Kayla, I think we need to go home soon" Antonia sat with her sister in the apartment, everyone else had left and Sylar was sleeping on the couch.

"Tonia, you're just going to leave him?"

"I have to, I need to get back to Noah, he'll come back"

"I think you're playing kind of a dangerous game Tonia, I worry about you"

"Why?"

"You're being impetuous, you don't need to be everything for everyone. You're flirting with danger for lack of a better phrase. I mean you two cannot even keep your hands off of each other"

"Kayla, when you die and come back to life you let me know what you would be in the mood for" she smiled at her

"Tonia, seriously, stop. Don't joke" she was serious and looked her sister firmly in the eye

"Kayla, I know it may seem like I am being reckless and not thinking things through, but there is a plan in place and I am seeing it through. That plan involves getting us home soon"

"Are you not afraid of what will happen to him?"

"Why do you care some much Kayla?"

"I actually kind of like him Tonia, you need to be careful, you need to guard your heart and stop fooling around carelessly and you need to stay here because if you run they will follow you. You cannot afford to play around, you cannot afford to get pregnant again, so you need to listen to me" Antonia felt as though her sister had a point

"I haven't heard from Traci in a while Kayla, try to call her for me"

She started to quietly pack her bags to leave, she was going to start on her sisters bags when Kayla came back into the room

"Tonia, they can't find Traci. They think she made her way back to DC"

"She'll contact me, I'm not worried"

"Are you going to say good bye to Gabriel before you leave?"

"He is asleep, I don't want to wake him" she pulled her coat on and her sister blocked her from leaving "Don't, I am not coming with you, I will just stay here with him"

"Kayla...."

"Fine go Tonia, go home and I'll be back in a couple of days"

Antonia wasn't totally sold on the idea of Kayla staying with Gabriel, she was young and didn't have any defenses.

When she got on the plane she dosed off for a bit. She saw herself at home and it was sunny, suddenly it was storming and dark. She walked outside and saw Gabriel standing in the rain, he stared at her "I forgot to ask you something" he said to her coldly "what do you need to ask me?"

"I wanted to marry you, we will have a daughter soon, I wanted you, you didn't have to be afraid of me" She then saw blood coming out of the back of his neck, his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed. She got on her knees screaming as she realized there was nothing to pull out, there was nothing to save him, there was no healing. She was drenched in his blood now and she laid her head on his chest. She wasn't pregnant. She wanted her little girl...

She screamed and saw she was still at the airport. The person beside her was startled "Sorry, it was a bad dream"

"It's okay dear" the kind old lady said "Our plane has been delayed until the morning, we need to stay here for the night"

Antonia tried to go back to the dream, to see if there was anything else she could see. The only thing she saw in her next dream was Gabriel in bed with another woman, she thought it was Elle at first. He was kissing her and they were naked, when she looked closer she saw it was Kayla. When she woke up again she went back to the apartment building, clearly leaving wasn't part of the equation anymore.

When she arrived it was early morning. Her sister was in her own room and Gabriel was still on the couch snoring.

"Wake up! NOW!" He was startled

"Annie, what are you doing, why aren't you in bed"

"I had a dream again, I went to the airport to leave, I didn't want to get into your way and then you died and you had sex with my sister...."

"What? Come here you, and people say I'm the crazy one. You just had a very bad dream, you've been going through a lot sweetie"

"You asked me to marry you before you died"

"Did I?"

"We are going to have a daughter, but it wasn't mine"

"You need to rest Annie" he kissed her on the forehead and carried her to the bedroom. He laid next to her "I can't die and as for your sister, she's 17 and I only want you, so don't worry"

"Do you want to marry me one day Gabe?"

"Sure Annie, whatever you want. Just get some rest"

Sylar was beginning to think with this new power she was going to become a bit of a liability. She knew that many of Angela's dreams came true no matter how hard she tried to change them. He was concerned mostly with the dying part, all of the other stuff could be easily prevented, he had no clue where it could be coming from. He wanted ultimate power but a life like Noah Bennett had and he was on his way to getting it, so why would he mess it up by screwing around with Antonia's sister and getting himself into messy situations?

He left for the day and contemplated his next move. While Antonia slept she saw herself at 90 years old being taken care of by a tall, dark, handsome man that she could barely remember. Her real self knew who he was, but in her dream she couldn't remember him "I think I might lose you for real Annie, there is no going back" he kissed her on the head "I love you"

She woke up startled again. Once she gets back Antonia vowed to have someone get rid of this ability, she hated dreaming the future. All that she saw was sadness and pain.

Her sister came out of her room "I knew you would come back Tonia"

"I'm having dreams again Kayla, I hate them"

"What kind of dreams"

"Last night I dreamt Gabriel died, I was going to have a daughter and he slept with you..."

"Wait, you dreamt I had sex with your boyfriend, come on now Tonia" she laughed "He's not my type, so you don't have to worry"

"My dreams in some way come true Kayla"

"Tonia, when I say he is not my type I mean guys like him...in general not my type"

She smiled at Kayla "I see, I see. Thank you, for not you know"

"No, I mean I am not saying he isn't attractive, he is a bit nuts... but attractive"

"I'm going to get old Kayla, he never will. I also saw me at 90 and he was the same age as he is now. He was still caring for me, I can't do that to him"

"Let's get breakfast, try to contact Traci and then I think we need to talk to someone"

"Sounds good, thanks Kayla" Antonia was getting extremely annoyed that these dreams were causing her so much stress, it was foolish to think she couldn't control her power, but it was eating her up inside.

"He asked me to marry him Kayla, in my dream he said he wanted to marry me. I need to learn how to control this power, my dreams are turning me into a paranoid maniac"

"It's fun when you can knock people over with wind and create tornados but no, not everyone wants to see the future" Kayla was grateful that her power wasn't s burden like the dreams were to Antonia.

"They're obscure too, I don't get it, but their taking its toll and turning me into someone I don't want to be Kayla. I want to be strong and they are making me weak"

Her sister handed Antonia her coat and they left "Let's deal with contacting Traci first, then we can see about getting your power under control, it should be a good thing, not a burden'

As she was driving with Kayla Antonia got a phone call from Gabriel

"Our daughter, did you see her?' he asked without saying hello

"No, in one dream I was pregnant and I was getting married the other you mentioned it"

"We might have a daughter one day, a little girl?"

"Maybe"

"She won't leave the house until she's 50"

"Oh, come on, make it 45 it is only fair"

"I know, I know. Maybe we could find a way to make you immortal like me, and I wouldn't have to lose you?"

"That's pretty impossible Gabe, where are you?"

"I'll be back soon"

" if you believe the dreams I am having you probably also believe you slept with my sister"

"I thought you slept with my brother, we're even" he said sarcastically

"Peter is not your brother"

"Technically"

"Don't sleep with my sister"

"I won't, if you marry me"

"You did not just propose to me over the phone"

"I can propose to you wherever the hell I want Annie"

"Yes I'll marry you, but I better get a kiss when I see you next"

"There will be more than just kissing, I have to go" and he hung up

Antonia turned to her sister "I guess I'm engaged..." she trailed off

Kayla screamed "I am so happy, so I can't sleep with him then"

'NO!"

"You know, maybe it wasn't supposed to me, maybe he needed an immortal like....Claire?"

"OH! Kayla, just drive. I got a text message from Traci saying she is fine but don't bring her up again to anyone, she would explain later so after breakfast we are going to go wherever you wanted to go help me with these dreams"

"So are you two really going to be a family, will you be able to?"

"It's interesting Kayla, seeing someone that can scare the crap out of you holding something small in his arms. Neither of us will change but hopefully our kids won't be too messed up" Antonia laughed and looked forward to seeing Gabriel eventually. She wanted to kiss his lips, feel his stubble against her neck, smell his cologne and feel his strong arms around her and feel normal at least for a moment.


	8. Chapter 8

While Antonia and her sister were driving she wondered where they were going, the only person she knew who dreamt the future was Angela.

"Kayla, you know, maybe these dreams are just stress? Maybe they mean nothing"

"They've come true, some of them" she asked inquisitively

"Somewhat, some were different outcomes, but I think the point of the dreams, when they are bad, is to stop them"

"Tonia, the thing is, you can't change the future, I mean you can try, but if something's going to happen, it'll happen. You might delay it or make it ever so better or worse, but it will happen"

"I just need to calm down, relax and never sleep again, then they'll stop"

"First 2 yes, the last, not sleeping again seems impossible" Kayla rolled her eyes at Tonia

"We're always going to have to run, won't we? He's always going to be in danger because of all he has done. They could come after me or Noah too" Antonia was well aware that it may not be the safest bet to stay with Gabriel, but ever since the rainy day she entered his watch shop she knew subconsciously that she would never be able to get rid of him.

"If he keeps doing what he's doing, then probably. Is he worth it? You could find someone to grow old with, you could just date and have fun, you don't need to be with him. I don't think he would take you breaking up with him well"

"Probably not Kayla, I can't imagine him being happy about it"

"Do you want to leave him?"

"No, is that crazy?"

"A bit" she smiled at her sister "I can see why you would stay, he is pretty incomparable and he has never done anything bad to YOU or your family"

"True"

When Antonia and Kayla arrived at the house she saw Peter, Angela and another person she had not met. They had a quiet dinner and Antonia sat with Angela and her sister to talk about the dreams she had been having and what they might mean, how she could stop them and Kayla talked to Peter. Antonia felt relieved that if her sister did like a guy it would be someone like Peter. Maybe Gabriel and Peter would be brothers after all.

When Antonia and her sister returned how they were stirred by what Angela had mentioned. Combined with both of their dreams there seemed to be something brewing. She didn't tell anyone she was engaged to Gabriel but the dreams Angela was having about the death of one of her sons and the evil she is seeing was extremely worrisome.

She and Kayla were getting ready for dinner, they were going to meet with Traci in a quiet area and get up to date on what they had to do.

Gabriel arrived back and looked a bit worse for wear. He was wearing jeans and a button up top which was a bit different than normal he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"Are you okay Gabe?" she stroked his face and kissed him

"Fine, where are you going?'

"Out to dinner with Kayla, do you need her to go ahead of me"

"No, it's okay, have fun" he kissed her again

"We should talk"

Kayla left ahead of her and once she was gone he brought her into a kiss

"I really meant that we should talk"

He ran his fingers through his hair

"We can talk" he kissed her again "We're going to be a family one day, I promise, we have forever to talk"

"I know, I just wanted to talk to you about the dreams" she said between his kisses

"Don't pay any attention to them, they're just dreams"

"You keep dying on me when I dream"

"I'm not going to die" his hands went up her shirt and he started to unhook her bra "I'm right here, I had a realization, I know what I have to do, I feel relieved"

"What do you have to do babe" she was trying to ward off his advances a bit "you know, no matter what you are all mine, don't forget that"

"I love when you get like that Annie, possessive" He laid her on the couch

"I am not possessive, you can go at anytime"

"You are SO possessive, I'm all yours, you don't want anyone else to have me"

"What do you have to do"

"You have to get to dinner now Annie, we can finish this later" he teeth ran over her neck down her chest and he stopped and kissed her

"You're a tease"

"Don't disappoint your sister"

"Will you be here when I get back?"

"Yea, I'm in for the night"

"You look like you had a hard night"

"We can worry about that later" She curled up on his lap and she felt that he was ready for something

"I'll see you later" she kissed him again and left, still worried about the situation at hand, she realized he needed some time to himself.

Once Antonia left Gabriel went through several files that he had from Danko. He needed to get her out of the picture for the night. There was no reason for her to get so involved with what he was doing, the dreams would come true if she didn't stay out his way.

When she got back she entered her room and found the whole room filled with candles, there was massage lotion on the table and saw Gabriel laying on the bed with nothing but a smile and a hat over his private area.

"What is this?" Antonia couldn't tear her eyes away

"Don't most normal couples do this when they celebrate something. Lay down" He got up and slowly removed her clothes and brought her to the bed and worked her muscles using his hands and his telekinesis "I thought I would return the favor" he whispered in her ear

"This is very unlike you"

"I need you to stop worrying and I need you to stop asking questions" his hair was falling into his face which would normally make her smile, but at that moment he looked incredibly harsh and serious "Don't talk about these dreams anymore, don't worry about anything. When and if I need you, I will let you know. I need to do my own thing now"

She sighed "So our plans have changed"

"They changed when you got killed Annie, they changed when you put yourself in danger" He kissed her neck "turn over"

"Do you think this is going to make me forget?" she closed her eyes

"For now, for now just be happy, don't worry about the future or growing old, just let me be with you"

"We're not normal Gabriel"

"Right now we are" he brought his lips back to her mouth and he made love to her again and again, but she was still worried about what was to come. For some reason this gesture scared her because she knew something was going to happen and she feared that every time she was with him it could be the last.

Antonia laid on Gabriel's chest and held him close.

"You know, you are going to live for hundreds of years, you're going to forget me Gabe" she said sadly "I'll be a burden to you"

"Never, I'll do whatever I can and make it so you can never go away" he kissed her on the head

"Why can't you tell me your plans?" she lifted her head to look at him

"I've realized there are two things a man needs-love and a purpose, power, authority. I have love, now I'm looking for something more"

"Why do you need it?"

"Do you want to see something cool?" he asked, his eyes were sparkling and a smile was playing on his lips

"What?"

"What is your ultimate fantasy, is there anyone who you would like to talk to or imagine?"

"I'm kind of boring Gabriel, I just want you" she kissed him "You're all the excitement I need, trust me"

"I have a new power and it's going to serve me well"

"Another power? How did you get it?"

He smirked at her "how do you think?"

"What is it?"

"I'm a shape shifter"

"Why?"

"I can be anyone I have to be now, I can reach my full potential"

She looked at him and saw someone so different, it wasn't Gabriel anymore, she realized she was seeing Sylar, the person he truly became and she wasn't sure how she felt about him. She was worried now about what Angela had told her, her dreams predicted a dark future, darker than those Antonia saw. Angela had told her that through time and patience the dreams she would have would be clearer and not so obscured.

Sylar continued "I know how things work, I see what I have to do, who I have to be with people, to get what I want"

"So you are manipulating me"

"No, no Annie. I mean I know how to treat you, I know what you need but I'm not manipulating you"

"How can I believe you?"

"You don't trust me?"

"Gabriel...I trust Gabriel"

"I'm Gabriel"

"No, you're not" She pulled away from him

"I'm going to be the only one left"

"I'm one of them Sylar I AM ONE OF THEM! Are you going to kill me too? My mother, our son!?"

"No, no of course not" she had gotten out of bed and started to get dressed. He continued "Annie, once I get rid of everyone standing in my way I will be able to help, be more, do more. Did you expect me just to marry you and sit around doing nothing, be a watch maker again"

"No...no" Antonia was honestly not sure what she was expecting.

"I am finishing what Danko started, I was going to work with him eventually but when he hurt you I had to get rid of him, don't you see I am your only hope? If you are not with me I cannot promise anything"

"I need you to leave, now"

He looked at her harshly and grabbed her shoulders "We can talk about this in the morning

"No, I can't see you right now. The dreams are coming true, you're going to die Sylar, Gabriel whoever the hell you are and you don't care..."

"I do care"

'You're going to keep killing?"

'If I have to, the shape shifter pretended to be me and I killed him"

"You watched an image of yourself die?"

"Yes, but it doesn't mean anything, not to us, not to you"

"Get out!"

"Annie..."

"GO!"

"I'll be back in the morning" he kissed her on the cheek and left. She was still shaking and desperately wished to dream to see what she needed to do

In her dream she was in a kitchen with big glass windows with sun streaming through them. She was eating a muffin and Gabriel came down the stairs and kissed her good morning and read the paper. His hands and shirt were covered in blood.

The next morning Gabriel was back, he looked sad and took her hands when he saw her

"I don't know what else I can do to make you believe how much I love you and how I am doing this for us as much as it is for me"

"I can't watch this, it is too bleak and I don't think I'm any good for you now"

"You're the only good"

"I'm sorry, you can still see Noah"

"You keep running from me, I thought you were brave and not a coward, this is the second time and I am NOT letting you leave me. You're going to have to shoot me in the back of the head to get rid of me. You would have done it when you had the chance if you wanted to! Are you going to be a liar too, broken..."

"Gabriel...."

"Just call me Sylar, that's how you see me, just like everyone else. Thanks Antonia, I see now the real person you are, maybe you should look in the mirror and see who the real monster is" He took her hand and took the ring off of her finger "Good bye, no I'm not going to kill you...surprised?" he said bitterly and walked out

Her sister was watching from the door way and ran after him

"Gabriel!"

"Kayla, I need to be alone"

"My sister is being an idiot, she's scared, she does love you"

"She's afraid of me"

"No, she's not afraid of you, it's the dreams, it is what Angela and Peter are telling her, what she is learning. She's going to grow old and die one day, you're not....she is afraid that there is someone who wants to kill you around every corner, she's afraid some vindictive person is going to come and hurt Noah or me, or Seth...because of something you did."

"I can save her from all of that"

"How?"

"I have power, and I won't let them"

"Maybe you should leave her alone for a while, I can talk to her"

"I won't talk to her for a while, but I'm going to be there, I won't let anything happen to her, everyone thinks I'm dead anyway. Maybe I should have let her think that, then I could have been her dead fiancé Gabriel and not me..."

Kayla gave him a hug "Here's my number, I'll keep you updated on her"

"Thanks, here's the ring, keep it. She doesn't want it anymore"

Kayla slipped the ring in her pocket and went back to Antonia. Who was very calm on the couch drinking coffee

"Did I make a mistake" Antonia asked her sister.

"Yes, yes you did..."

Kayla stood in front of her sister

"You know Tonia, I have always look up to you, I have always known you as an intelligent and thoughtful person, but you are discarding someone who clearly loves you and would do anything for you, and for what? Not all of these dreams come true, you're be careless and silly"

Antonia had never seen her sister so annoyed with her, even at 18 she was wise beyond her years. It wasn't just her power, she was always more thoughtful and mature than her classmates.

"I just feel like it might be better for us to be apart, safer"

"How, how is it safer to be away from someone who can protect your family. He wants you by his side, he isn't asking you to change, he just wants YOU. Are you going to find a man like him anywhere? Most men are afraid of smart, strong, independent women like you. Plus we have super powers, are you going to find a guy who understands that your sister speaks 30 languages, your brother can be in 5 places at once and you can make a snow day in July if you wanted?"

Antonia smiled "No, I wouldn't even know what to say to him right now"

"Give him time"

A couple of weeks later she was at a bar waiting for Traci to meet for drinks. Traci had plans of her own and was keeping a low profile. They met somewhere very quiet and secluded, she wouldn't have been surprised if she was wearing a wig from how down low she said she had to be.

While waiting a man approached her. She did look rather nice that night in her patterned wrap dress, heals and her hair was recently cut and highlighted. She smiled politely at him, he was handsome she guessed in a nice black suit blonde hair and blue eyes. He was only an inch or so taller than her, not like Gabriel who towered over her at times and looked at you with those eyes that bore into your soul. His eyes very friendly, his brows thin but she guessed he was okay.

"I couldn't help but notice you, can I buy you another glass of wine?"

"Well I'm meeting someone, but sure. I'm Antonia"

"Bob"

"Hi Bob, nice to meet you" she shook his hand and smiled

"So are you drinking Cabernet"

"That's my favorite"

He ordered her a glass of wine and she noticed his Rolex. Gabriel hated Rolex's, he thought they were too obvious. She smiled and fiddled with her gold watch that she still wore, it didn't work anymore but she loved it.

"So what do you do Antonia?"

"I'm in medicine"

"A nurse?"

Antonia smiled "No, a surgeon"

He blushed "Of course, sorry about that" he noticed the shoes where probably Jimmy Choo and not Payless and her watch looked expensive

"What do you do Bob?"

"I'm an investment banker"

"Interesting"

"Long hours, but the pay is good, what do you do for fun?"

"I like to travel, work out, I read and try to interpret what the hell my sister Kayla is saying half the time, she speaks 30 languages"

Bob laughed politely "Interesting, where is the last place you traveled"

Antonia smirked "Fiji" remembering her time in the hotel

"That sounds lovely"

"It was amazing"

"Did you go alone"

"My ex fiancé"

"I'm sorry, how long where you together"

"On and off for a little over a year, it's a long story"

"What was he like"

"He's complicated"

"How?"

"He has many layers, he can be sweet, funny but he..."

"If you don't want to talk about him that's fine, I broke up with a girl a couple months ago, she cheated, did he cheat"

Antonia laughed "No, nothing like that"

"Did you cheat?"

"No, I had no reason, my sex life was out of this world" she blushed at revealing so much information "Sorry..."

Bob ran his fingers through his hair "It's fine, what did he do for a living?"

"He fixed watches"

"Or restored time pieces"

She looked at Bob oddly "why do you mention that difference, isn't it the same thing?"

"I don't know"

"He understood everything and I didn't, so I left him. We have a son"

"How old is he?"

"Almost a year, he...was conceived a bit..." Antonia took another gulp of wine

"Was he a good dad"

"He's going to be a great dad"

"But you're not with him?"

"No, I had to let him go, it's complicated"

"Do you still love him?"

"Yes"

She was not enjoying her conversation with Bob, she was wondering if this was how most people met dates at bars and if this sort of conversation was normal.

Traci sent her a text message saying she would be a bit late. She finished her wine and started on another glass and through her blurry eyes Bob was starting to look a bit better. She noticed he wasn't getting too drunk even though he was drinking a lot of vodka. Something inside hit her and she leaned towards him and whispered "Meet me in the ladies room in 5 minutes"

She made sure no one was in there and sat on the counter, her legs crossed, she tousled her hair a bit. She was very excited and took her thong off and put in her purse

Bob came into the bathroom and locked the door

"I didn't think you were in to me"

"What wouldn't I be?"

She started nibbling at his ear and she slowly started to kiss his neck and whispered "now who are you really?"

Bob look at her curiously "I'm Bob Greene, I'm an investment banker, I own a house and a BMW" He came close to her "and I know your favorite ice cream is hazelnut mixed with strawberry, you secretly love the movie Clueless, your pet peeve is whistling and your power first manifested when you were 8, it snowed on Megan's 13th birthday, in September" he whispered in her ear

She watched Bob start to grunt and groan as he changed back to Gabriel, she smiled "That was cool"

He pulled her in for a passionate kiss "I missed you baby"

"I feel like an idiot Gabe, we should talk"

"We will" he undid her dress and tkd his clothes off

"Bob was so boring, no passion, no excitement...he thought I was a nurse"

"What's wrong with being a nurse"

"Nothing, they wear cute outfits"

"Annie, I've been thinking"

She groaned because his hands were working their magic on her "no thinking, kissing"

"I missed you" she flipped him over onto his back, not thinking of how dirty the floor could have been and she took him in her mouth, ran her hands up and down his stomach and took everything out on him, every moan and scream was silenced with a kiss. When they were done, they got dressed and left the bathroom at separate times.

Traci was there already and she saw her friend looking flushed. Gabriel asked her to meet him in the morning at her apartment and she got down to business with Traci.


	9. Chapter 9

Antonia sat down at a table with Traci with menus in hand. Traci was wearing a brown wig and had colored contacts in. She would have laughed but she knew Traci was being dead serious about being secretive, she confessed that she needed people to think she was gone.

Traci eyed **Bob** leaving the bathroom and raised her eyebrow at her friend

"So, getting over your fiance?"Traci took a sip of water

"No, that's him"

"I thought he was dead?"

"I thought you were dead Traci"

"True, True" she laughed 'So, I need your help Antonia"

"Whatever you need, just say the word"

Antonia felt she owed so much to Traci after all she had done for her.

"Well, I am going to take this whole organization down after what they did to us, I got into politics to make a difference and look what happened? I was willing to sell out a 13 year old kid, what does that make me?"

"So what are you going to do about it, don't beat yourself up over it?"

'What if I did that to Noah?"

Antonia was thoughtful "it wouldn't be pleasant, I wouldn't worry about me as much as Gabe"

"I think I need him too"

"He's off limits"

"Why" Traci was dumbfounded, she had never seen her friend act like this.

"Traci, he doesn't need to be involved"

"He can help, he has power, he wants the kind of power I have. He is perfect. I can talk to him, convince him..."

"Convince him?"

"I have my ways"

"That's what I am afraid of Traci. Hands off"

"Antonia, you're my friend, I won't betray you. We need to stop these people and I need you. You have connections and you have a powerful ally. He's a shape shifter now, he can be anyone. That's what we need"

"Do you need me to call him?"

"Yes"

Antonia was concerned, she never admitted that she at times felt intimidated by Traci. She was beautiful, powerful and could convince an Eskimo to buy ice cubes. Traci had won over many men whom Antonia was interested in and she felt insignificant at times.

She called Gabriel to come back and he happily accepted when she told him about Traci needed his ability.

Sylar arrived at the restaurant and Traci walked over to greet him. When he sat down Antonia took his hand in hers and held it tightly. Traci rolled her eyes at her friend and Sylar looked confused and placed his hand on her knee.

"So Gabriel, I understand you were working with Danko for a while, and now I understand that you can shape shift, I think we might want the same thing. Getting people with abilities front and center and destroying those who want to hurt us"

"What are you suggesting? I have no interest in protecting those with abilities, I want infulence, power"

"I have all of that" Traci leaned over and put her hand on Gabriel's knee. Antonia in turn rolled her eyes at her friend

"That's not going to work on me blondie"

"You don't have to call her blondie, her name is Traci"

"I'll help but on my terms, what do you need me to be"

"Can you be Nathan"

"I can be better than Nathan" Sylar laughed and shifted into Nathan. Traci touched his face and her hand went down his chest and legs

"Traci!"

"Oh it's Nathan, I had to see how realistic"

"Yea....sure" she smiled at her friend "_It is realistic Traci_"

"Yes, I think our plan will work"

He shifted back to Gabriel and Antonia excused herself

"I wouldn't try anything with me Traci, I can help but your manhandling, not interested. I;m using this power for my own benefit, I don't need THAT kind...I'm happy with my sex life the way it is"

"Relax, I'm not going to try anything with you"

"Even when our plan succeeds and I have power, unlimited political power. If I'm President one day..."

"Then we'll see"

"No, I may be a psychopathic killer at times but I'm faithful"

"I can lend you a lot of what Antonia can't. If you are serious about having the kind of power you crave"

"We're going to get married and I'll do you a favor and not mention this conversation to her"

He excused himself, paid for the meal and walked out with Antonia

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest

"See, the plan will work" she said softly "and if you think of doing anything with Traci I will murder you"

"Like you said, you're all the excitement I need. You ARE possessive"

"Oh you're just saying that because I want to tie you up and shock you with lightning" She said playfully

"You know what I would do if you cheated?"

"Hm" she looked at him innocently

"I would forgive you"

"No you wouldn't" she kissed him

"You're all mine Annie"

"Now who is the possessive one? Let's go practice your Nathan"

That night she had another dream about her daughter and her wedding. Each time it was interrupted by gun fire and electricity. It just made no sense. Elle was dead and she was sure she was marrying Gabe, so why was there electricity. Unless he was using it to protect someone from the gun.

She kept trying to will herself to continue with the dream to see what was going on but each time it stopped. When she finally did, she saw her little girl was dead. She was struck by a stray bullet. It was Gabriel at the end of the aisle and he was grief stricken as she saw a blond with electricity and her yelling "she was supposed to be mine"

She heard a knock on the door and Gabriel was out like a light. She answered it quietly and blacked out after feeling a strong shock in her gut.

When she awoke she was in a car, bleary eyed she tried to focus on who was driving. She saw a petite blond with bright blue eyes and a small scar on her forehead.

"Hey there weather girl"

Antonia's stomach hurt and she groaned "You do know I don't heal right? ouch"

"Stop being a baby" The blond said firmly

" I do know you...I'm Antonia Ceppaglia"

"Oh I know who you are, I know a lot about you" the blond laughed

"Elle?"

"Bingo"

"You're dead?"

"Clearly, you don't understand the scientific meaning of dead"

"Where are you taking me?"

"We need to talk, so you and _Gabriel_ are together?"

"We.."

"No, no. Don't say anything"

"I won't"

"So he didn't try to take your power or anything, stormy?"

"He did, but through empathy"

Elle laughed hysterically "So that's how he gets you, huh? Is that his thing to woo women, let me blast your shirt off and have sex with you on a sleeping bag and I'll love ya forever" Elle smirked "Just don't let him take you to the beach, which incidentally is where we're going"

"To talk?"

"Yes stormy, we are going TALK" she said slowly

"Elle, I want to talk to you, I'd like to understand why you're alive and what you want with me"

"I'm trying to help you, so you don't end up like this"

"Help me! According to my dreams you want to hurt me and my family, I have a son"

"A son, according to Peter that should have been my son...."

"What are you talking about Elle"

"When I got better I saw Peter, he said people were rounding up people with abilities and he went into the future and said that Sylar had a child, it was mine and I was dead"

"I see. Elle, how did you survive?"

"I passed out after he started cutting into my head, I was slowly bleeding and he curled up on my chest and cried, I was too weak to move and he fell asleep for the night next to me. Then I remembered being wet but then it stopped. Turns out, Arthur teleported to the beach and made him think he was burning me. I was taken to the hospital once Sylar left to go to Pinehurt and I got better"

"Why did he kill you?"

"I'm going to find out"

"You made him this way"

"I know, I did but if you didn't leave him and showboat and try to save your brother maybe things would have been different'

'I didn't show boat Elle, I had some fun with my powers to kick your ass"

She laughed "You think that you kicked my butt, I'd like to see you try"

They arrived at the beach, it was nearly sunrise and the wind was chilly

"Do you think he loved you Elle?"

"I don't know, how do you kill someone you love?"

"He never tried to kill me Elle"

"Not yet, do you think he's going to have anything more with you than we had? I was his angel"

"Maybe, but I'm his weakness"

"He doesn't have any"

"Elle, I can't fight over a guy with you. Why did you bring me here?"

"I need to sort things out, you're the only one who can understand"

"Are you going to let him know you're alive?"

"Oh believe me, he'll know"

"What are you going to do when you see him Elle"

"Cute, you're protecting him"

"No, I'm not. So you know Peter too?"

"Yea, we know the same people, let's get a slusho, paint our nails and watch American Idol"

Antonia laughed "I'd prefer a coffee and Dancing with the Stars, but I won't get picky" She sat down on the sand, still in her pajamas and robe and she felt the coolness against her feet "If it's too cold for you I can make it warm for you Elle"

"Yea, you do that thing, has he ever shown you my ability?"

Antonia blushed "yes"

"Oh, what did he do?"

"It was during"

"Sex? Cute! He used MY ability during sex with YOU!" Elle smirked at Antonia "so he was probably thinking of me."

'No, I doubt it, highly, the way he was moaning and running his fingers through my hair"

"He used my ability, he was thinking of me"

"Maybe Elle, maybe" Antonia smiled at Elle again and motioned for her to sit next to her

"Sex was something I could never complain about"

"With Gabriel or Sylar?"

"Sweetie, they're the same person" Elle shook her head at Antonia

"No, there is a difference, trust me"

"Are you talking about sex with abilities in tact or sex like normal people, of course there will be a difference" Elle closed her eyes and leaned back, feeling the salty air in her face

"No, it was different when I was with Gabriel the first time when I first met him, before you and being with him now. He was sweeter the first time, gentle, not as passionate, but it was lovely."

'I'll bet, I was only with him once, we were powerless, I didn't sleep with him when I first met him" she paused...".aren't you a little worried about the fact that he tried to kill me?"

"Of course I am, I met Claire who he also tried to kill...I don't get it"

"That's why you two can never be together stormy, you are not as f'd up as I am"

"Sure I am Elle. I'm on the beach talking to my fiances dead ex on the beach where she was killed, that is kinda screwed up?"

"Fiance, he asked you to marry him"

"Not in so many words, but yes"

"Good luck with that, I was in love him. He killed my father. FYI, in the community of specials you will be hard pressed to find someone who Sylar didn't try to kill"

"I'm seeing that"

"I loved him and thought he loved me"

"He did, he told me he did. You saw something in him and he didn't feel like you were any good for each other"

"That makes it okay?"

"No, it doesn't Elle. I'm not mad at you for saving his life, and I am mad that he tried to take yours. He told me about your life"

"He shouldn't have, it is none of your business"

"I know, Elle you didn't deserve any of that"

"My father loved me" Antonia looked with sadness at Elle "I know, he did Elle of course he did" she reached over to stroke her hair

"Did Gabriel tell you I liked that too?" she smiled at Antonia

"No"

"I was ready to blast the hell out of you"

"I was ready to start a typhoon and wash you out to sea"

"I'd like to see that"

"Elle, do you need me to call Gabriel?"

"And say what, you're having breakfast with Elle? Yea, your dead ex girlfriend the one you murdered!"

"I'll think of something"

"Sure, call him"

"Elle, how do you love someone but make them a killer?"

"How do you love someone and leave them like you did?"

"and you say I'm not screwed up" she laughed.

Gabriel was awoken from his sleep by his phone. He groaned and looked at how early in the morning it was and panicked. What is something was wrong with Noah, he saw it was an unlisted number and was ready to ignore it but against his better judgment picked it up.

"Hello" he said in a raspy voice

"Gabe" he heard Antonia's voice on the other end and wondered then why she wasn't with him then.

"Where are you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I need you to meet me somewhere"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" he felt his lie detector ability go off

"Are you hurt?"

"No, just come to the beach at Costa Verde"

A knot began to form in his stomach, he knew the beach she was talking about

"Okay, I'll be right there"

He threw on jeans, a t shirt and hoodie and headed out. He recalled that night on the beach, he killed Elle and he has never forgotten it. He is sometimes scared he could be capable of doing that to Antonia. He is able to do horrible things without a thought.

He saw her car was still outside, which made him even more worried. He drove as fast as he could and hoped he wouldn't get pulled over. He arrived and saw her on the beach and started to run over to her then his heart stopped. Near her, he saw a ghost. She was wearing black cotton pants, boots and her electric blue tank top and sweater. Her hair was pulled back and her once playful blue eyes were hard, he remembered her whimpering and kissing her good bye. The taste of cherry on her lips, the smell of salt in the air and the warmth of the blood and fire as her life drained out of her.

She said nothing at first and he walked towards her

"Elle...' he went to touch her but was stopped by a massive shock right to his face. The pain was unbearable 'KILLER! GOD I HATE YOU YOU SON OF A BITCH" then blasted him again

"Elle!" he was healing but the pain was still there

"Don't say my name, beg me for your life!!" and she blasted him again "WHY CAN'T I KILL YOU!"

Antonia looked on in horror, not knowing what to do. She figured going up to Elle and suggesting they just talk wouldn't be the best idea. She also wanted to go to Gabriel to see if he was okay, but he is a big boy, he could handle himself

"How are you alive Elle?"

"Someone saved me, why did you do it?"

"Who saved you, I watched you Elle, you were all ashes. I gave you a good bye"

"What kind of good bye was that Sylar?"

"I couldn't bare the fact to think of you lying dead on the beach"

"Arthur made you think you killed me, he got into your mind, you had a moment of weakness. You were crying, I was too weak to move"

"So you see that I was sad about killing you?"

"It doesn't matter. You still did it and now I can't kill you, and I wanted to kill someone you cared about, I just haven't decided who or when"

"Elle, you don't have to"

"I can take what I want"

"You got your vengeance"

"That doesn't count, you didn't need my power. You killed me when I was letting myself love you. Did you love me?"

He looked over at Antonia who was sitting and watching all of this happen, he didn't want to admit that he loved Elle in front of her

"In my way, I'm not totally capable of the kind of love you need"

"I don't need anything. You are the one who told me you were glad your powers were gone, YOU started talking about the family you wanted and all of that other bull THEN you get your powers back and turn it all on to me! YOU are the one!"

"Elle"

"Don't say my name, I don't want to hear you talk right now" she blasted him again for what seemed like forever. Antonia used a gust of wind to knock Elle down

"I can't watch this Elle" she kneeled over Gabriel as he healed "are you okay?' she said quietly and kissed him on the cheek.

"Fine, you should go"

"Not so fast, you're staying here stormy" and Elle shocked her

"Elle, leave her alone, she doesn't deserve that"

"Sweet, the monster actually cares about someone. She doesn't deserve if. Special Claire didn't have to die but I did. You're screwed up"

"You didn't deserve it Elle"

"You don't hurt her, Claire is the special one. I'm damaged so I didn't deserve to live, I would be better dead?"

"No"

"Then WHY did you try to kill me"

"You made me this way Elle"

"Oh SHUT up, I didn't make you kill"

"You fed me that rental car guy for breakfast!"

"You didn't have to kill him"

"I had to Elle, for YOU...you had to go on that assignment, you knew Arthur and Angela weren't my parents and guess what you still manipulated me. You knew me as Gabriel, you took advantage of me because I was weak once"

They were an inch apart by this point and Elle had both hands balled with electricity. She grabbed him hard and shocked him. The contact was excruciating and when he fell she hovered over him and helped him up as he healed. She took his head and kissed him, and against his better judgment kissed her back.

"What are you doing?" Antonia was standing up

"Nothing"

"Gabriel, I am going to go"

Elle walked over to her "you are not going anywhere, you need to see him for what he really is"

"You still love me Sylar" Elle looked coldly at him 'No matter what you do, you are going to destroy people you love"

"I don't love you Elle, I pity you" he felt his lie shake in his core but ignored it

"I'll be back, don't leave" Elle walked over to her car and drove back

Antonia was brushing sand off of her robe and the sun was rising. Gabriel went to put her arm around her but she rebuffed him. He looked hurt

"I didn't mean to kiss her"

"Yes you did, it is not about the kiss, I don't care that much. Everything else...it is frightening. You need to work things out with Elle"

"There is no working things out"

"How could she have loved you like I do? I have put up with a lot"

"She doesn't"

When Elle returned she had a large file with her

She sat down on a lawn chair that she took out of her trunk

"I want to show you some things about our friend here" Elle asked Antonia to come sit with her

"Elle, what is that?" Sylar was getting annoyed at this spectacle

"A trip down memory lane, I thought it might be nice for her to know you how I do"

She took out dozens of folders depicting various people with their skills open, impaled with forks, paint brushes, beer bottles. Headless, bloody bodies. She was used to some gore but this was a bit much for Antonia.

"What is all of this Elle"

"These are the people _Gabriel_ killed"

He felt sick to his stomach and he saw the look on Antonias face "You knew, you knew what I have done Annie..." he said quietly

"This was the Walker family, they had an 8 year old daughter, did he mention he tried to kill her for her power too?"

"An 8 year old girl?" she looked at him in horror

"No, no.. Elle STOP" he was angry but wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of showing it

"Here is Isaac Mendez, he was not only decapitated but impaled by paint brushes! What makes you think that when your little one manifests the _hunger_ won't emerge and he won't lose his mind again?"

"Elle!" He started to use Antonia's power to control the weather, he wanted it to stop

Antonia saw picture after picture, reports, crime scene descriptions. He must have killed over 50 people.

"Try as you might Sylar, you are going to pay for what you did somehow. Then we will be even" Elle screamed over the wind

"Your father was right you know, and people think I have daddy issues!"

"What was he right about"

"Your a disappointment, you act all high and mighty. Didn't you kill someone in cold blood in Ireland Elle"

"We have both killed, but you are far worse"

It started raining harder and the waves were crashing, the sky had turned black and he saw the water rushing, nearly 12 feet high and was ready to land on the beach and take them with it. They ran and once Sylar calmed down the weather became normal again

"This is not the end" Elle walked back to her car and drove off

He walked over to Antonia who was sitting on the beach and shaking from the cold. He took his coat off and wrapped it around her. He went to touch her and she flinched. He took a deep breath, why did she flinch? She knew what he had done. He sat next to her and held her tight and was silent for what seemed like forever.

"Annie"

She looked up at him blankly "I don't know what to think about you right now"


	10. Chapter 10

"What else can I possibly do, to make you see that I adore you?"

"I know you do" she stroked his face "I'm just very overwhelmed

"Do you want to sit here for a while? I don't want to leave you alone"

"I can be alone for a bit, it's fine"

"I would never hurt you"

"I know"

"I never hid anything from you"

"Gabriel, you didn't tell me you tried to kill a child"

"I didn't kill her, I didn't know she had a power. I cannot explain myself, I have no excuses. I am much different now then how I was when I first started"

"I know" she kissed him on the cheek

"I'll let you stay here, come back when you're done Annie. We'll get through this" he hugged her and kissed her on the lips "I love you" and he walked away.

When Antonia finally returned her sister had since left for the day and left a note reminding her that they needed to go tomorrow to look at schools. For some reason Kayla trusted her more than her mom when it came to this.

She was full of sand and saw Gabriel on the couch.

"What were you up to today?"

"Long story, I'm just tired now."

He started to tell her about what had happened and he trailed off and sat quietly. A moment later he pulled her in to kiss her. Antonia didn't respond to it.

"Annie, please. I don't know what else to do"

"It's just not working for me right now, it can't be fixed with going to bed with you right now?"

"We don't HAVE to do it in bed"

"You know what I mean"

"You are the most important person. No matter what I do, I care about you. I'm capable of horrible things and I have done horrible things, probably will do more....today even...but with you all I want is to protect you and if someone like me tried to hurt you, he would be gone"

"I know" she stroked his face and his arms "I think you have a lot to work out with Elle, you need to deal with a lot, so do I. I think I'm too normal for all of this, not very special"

"You are special, your perfect"

"I'm going to go change"

He got up to follow her and she asked him not to. He of course didn't listen and helped her out of her clothes. He kissed her on her forehead and said he had to leave.

Gabriel got on the phone while he was in his car "Where are you?"

"Meet me at 46th and Main, come alone"

Sylar arrived at a small house, he knew who it was and he was ready for whatever she needed from him. He walked in and saw Elle, she smiled at him and revved up the electricity in her hand but just zapped him softly on the nose.

"Sit down, I have your favorite"

"Elle, I can't stay"

"Yes you can, and you will"

"I'm glad you're okay"

"I have some surprises for you Sylar" she winked at him and was sashaying around in her tank top and tight pants as she often did. He turned away to be kind and still couldn't believe she was alive.

"Elle" he put a hand on her shoulder

She turned around and unbuttoned his top a bit "relax, it won't hurt much"

"I'm really trying here Elle, we were never really going to be able to be happy"

"Why do you say that?" she puckered her bottom lip out and rolled her eyes

"I told you, we're damaged. You deserve better"

"Do I?"

"Yes"

"What if you were better Sylar, what if I could make you better?"

"Elle, clearly you are not here to talk and catch up"

"Do you know how a person can actually fall in love with someone who murdered their father?"

"He didn't deserve to live after what he did to you Elle?"

Elle narrowed her eyes at him "What the hell did you just say to me?"

Sylar stood up and touched her forehead "I'm glad I killed him, I killed the person who hurt Annie and I killed the person who hurt you, sometimes you have to do that Elle"

"My father was the only one who cared about me"

"You think he cared, do you think Bennett cared about you? He watched while you were thrown into a bathtub and electrocuted"

"Shut UP! You have no right to talk to me like that"

"What do you need from me Elle?"

"Pie"

She sat down on the couch and started to eat, Sylar sat next to her to share it with her. He knew something was coming and he was preparing himself for the worse.

"So you're a dad?"

"Seems so" Sylar took another bite and smiled, he did love this.

"Are you afraid that he got your genes?"

"Terrified"

"You'll never last with her, she's not exciting, she's normal"

"No, you're wrong"

"What does she do?"

"She's a doctor"

"That's the definition of irony, she gives life and you, my friend, take it. Cheers" she lifted her glass to him and he glared at her.

"So you want me to leave her and go back to you and travel across country kicking ass and taking names?"

"I have no interest in that anymore Sylar" She shocked him and he was startled, he went to shock her back and he felt a knife plunge into his back

"This is going to be fun" Elle smiled at him and she tied his wrists to the table tightly"

"Elle, LET. ME. GO!!" Sylar growled at her.

"No, I need to have fun! I want to give you some fun, before Bennett gets to you"

"Bennett" he scoffed

"He knows, he knows your alive and he could possibly know about your son and all that other stuff you're concerned about"

While she was speaking she peeled her tank off to reveal a pink lace bra and he closed his eyes not wanting to see. She was stunning to him still, he often wondered what he did in life to have attracted such beautiful women like Elle, Maya and Antonia. He was such a nerdy guy when he met Elle and Antonia and he couldn't stop the thoughts going through his mind.

She pulled her hair off of her pony tail and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"If you're good and do what you're told we can make a deal"

"Elle, I will tear you apart if you don't untie me and let me go"

"I'd like that" She undid his belt and slid his pants down "You're not resisting, which is interesting...and you clearly like what you see" She took her pants off and straddled his chest, kissing him passionately on the lips and he didn't respond

"It's a normal physiological response that happens sometimes Elle, it has nothing to do with you"

"That's mean of you to say" and she shocked him on chest with a full blast, she still had a knife in her hand and she smiled sadistically at him "So you can heal"

"I can"

"Has anyone ever tried to cut something off, will it grow back" and her hands started to rub his body and she looked him up and down "I can start with the things you like the most"

"If you do that, I will show you things that will f you up so much more than you are now, I'm a shape shifter remember?"

"Can you turn into Ben Affleck?"

"No" he said coldly

"So you are not attracted to me at all right now?"

"No Elle" he was cursing his lie detecting ability more so than usual.

She slowly peeled her underwear off and started to rub herself against him and against his better judgment began to raise his hips "Why are you doing this Elle?" he groaned

"I want some fun, I want to destroy you a bit. It's not fair to hurt your weather girl so I thought I would just let her see you for a cheating, murdering scum bag"

"Yet you want to have sex with me now. Is that logical"

"I'm not a logical person Sylar. You want me to not tell Bennett about you, you want me to leave you alone. I get what I want and you get to have some fun too"

"I could have loved you, but I would have eventually wanted to settle down" he surprisingly felt his lie detector go off when he mentioned settling down, he didn't quite understand

"So you would be a regular watch making dad?" she slowly started down on him and he wasn't resisting

"No"

"We could have been together, I often wondered why so many people were luckier than me. That's life right? Some people get the short end of the stick and some fight like mad to always get what they want, I'm the latter"

"Elle"

She kissed him again and this time he kissed her back and he felt a tremendous guilt, all he wanted was the one person who accepted him for who he was.

He broke away and closed his eyes again "Stop it, or I'm going to throw you off of me in about 2 seconds"

"You're not finished"

"I am, I'm done" he used all of his energy to fling her away and break out of the cuffs. He grabbed her and kissed her hard on her mouth "If I do this, you have to leave me alone. Tell Bennett whatever the hell you want, I need you to move on with your life Elle, you deserve better"

She ran her sparks down his back and finished him off.

"Fine, go get cleaned up and leave"

Sylar left shortly after and could barely look at himself, he did feel horrible, there was no reason for him to do that to Annie. Everything he does there is a purpose an Endgame. He decided to put his plan into motion and drove to the Bennett house. He knew only Lyle and Sandra would be there, he shifted into Bennett, entered the house and shot them both.

He drove off and decided it was time to meet with him face to face. This has been going on long enough and he was getting closer to his family. It wouldn't be too long before Elle talked to him, for whatever reason there was this connection between the two of them.

He shifted into room service to get into his hotel where he was staying until he got a house. Bennett was sitting at his desk and he brought in dinner.

"Thanks" and Bennett handed Sylar a tip. He tk'd the doors locked and sat down on the bed "What are you doing?" he asked the room service attendant

He smirked and shifted back to his regular self "Hello Noah"

"You son of a bitch" and grabbed his gun and pointed it at Sylar

"You know it's interesting, you and I" Sylar walked slowly up to him "you have been trying to get rid of me for SO long and yet nothing works"

"You're going to slip up soon Gabriel" he called him Gabriel in such a mocking tone, it used to bother him but he didn't care anymore.

"You keep chasing me, your daughter tried, no one can. You know even when a regen heals there is still horrible pain. I mean, can you imagine Clair getting thrown in a freezing cold tub of water and electrocuted horribly. Like you did to Elle, did you get your jollies from watching a 12 year old girl tortured?"

"You're not going to be able to get near her"

"She can grow back her organs, her limbs. What about if I cut her pretty little arm off...would that grow back? Can you see all the things someone can do to her and she'll heal physically but the emotional pain, that stays with you.....forever...."

"Keep talking,I'm going to enjoy killing you even more and wiping that smug grin off of your face"

"Then we have Lyle, but who cares about him, your only blood child, your wife who cannot even look at you"

"I understand you found someone too, and you have a son"

"I do"

"Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him, would you"

Sylar laughed "Kind of sick, you trying to prove I'm a monster and you're threatening a 5 month old"

"I wouldn't kill a baby, but I know she has a mother on Long Island, her name is Celeste, be a shame for her to lose her mom and dad?"

"That doesn't bother me"

"I'm threatening your child and his grandmother and that doesn't bother you?"

"You're not going to touch him and if you try anything on Annie you're going to have a hell of a fight on your hands"

"I'm going to bury you"

"I'd get out soon Noah, because I think you're going to have more trouble on your hands other than me"

"I'm going to kill you, I'm going to make sure you never come back"

"Have fun with that" and he left. Bennett was a smart man, he had a plan and was going to try to be a step ahead of Sylar at every moment, that moment was not the right time. He did realize that he needed to get Antonia out of the picture, because Bennett wouldn't hesitate doing something to her. He then saw the police cars driving up to the hotel and realized things were just about to get a lot worse.

When he got back to Antonia's he saw she was the only one there, which would make things a lot easier on him.

She looked up from her book and smiled at him

"Hi, I talked to Traci today, she has some great ideas"

"I have to talk to you"

"Okay"

She stood up and walked over to him

"I don't love you anymore"

"No?"

"No, I realize that I can't be the person you want me to be. I'm not meant to be a father or any of these things you want"

"That's what I want huh" she smiled at him and tilted her head, wrapping her arms around his waist

"We are SO wrong for each other, you repulse me" she started to unbutton her top and she kissed his cheek and his neck "Do I now?"

"I need someone more powerful than you"

"Like Traci? Sweetie, that is a game she plays, she needs to make sure your head is in the game and you passed" She was slowly moving her hands up his shirt. His back was warm and she scratched it firmly "You like that don't you?"

"I'm trying to tell you something Annie" clearly this was not working, being nasty to her wasn't going to make her listen to him, he should have known

"Elle was important to me"

"Elle is very beautiful Gabe and she was important"

"I had sex with her , today"

Antonia looked him in the eyes "No you didn't, just stop this" she kissed him "why are you acting like this? I assume something bad has happened, you need me to leave so I can be safe and you think acting like an ass is going to make me do that? You're smarter than this and so am I"

He held her close to him and wanted so badly to get rid of this guilt

"I need you to get out of town, even if I have to drag you out and duct tape your mouth shut"

"I'm not going anywhere until I get a tangible explanation"

He stroked her face and kissed her again "I am so sorry"

"About what?"

"I did something bad"

"You've done bad things, this is not a surprise"

"You're going to hate me"

"Stop"

He kissed her again and needed to be with her one last time before he told her the truth. He was able to and it felt so different but it felt so good to be wanted and needed albeit for totally different reasons. He loved the warmth of her skin, the smell of her hair and how she couldn't resist him. He was going to have to fess up and tell her he deviated from their plan a bit and he was not sure she would ever understand.

They again as almost every night lie next to each other

"You know, I'm surprised we ever get anything accomplished" Antonia said lazily

"I have to tell you something" he said quietly "You're not going to like it" His heart was racing, he had warned her several times he was no good for her and having done several stupid things that day was going to to please her "You know about Noah Bennett right?"

"Claire's dad, he's the one who tried to kidnap my brother"

"He shot his wife and son"

"Oh my GOD! That's horrible"

"I really hate him, I had this plan to just destroy him, I had everything in place and then I lost my mind a little"

"What do you mean" she looked worry and rubbed his shoulder

"That wasn't Bennett, it was me"

"You pretended to be Bennett and shot his family? Why!"

"He was going to get to me, Elle contacted me and I realized I had to up the stakes on him, They're not dead"

"How do you know"

"I made an anonymous call to 911"

"They may not have gotten there on time"

"Annie, you do realize that it was never going to end unless I did something drastic. He and Elle put a serious damper on my plans"

"How does Elle fit into this"

"I went to see her, she claimed that Bennett had some ideas about you, Noah and me..he knew I was alive and she was going to have a talk with him unless I did something"

"What. Did you do?" she asked very firmly

"I love you"

"Tell me!"

"I did talk to her and I did sleep with her. I wasn't lying"

"So today you shot 2 people and had sex with your ex"

"Yes"

"That wasn't part of the plan"

"I've upped the stakes a bit, but I know what I have to do. You're forgetting that I understand everything, so even if I get a little off course I can get back on pretty quickly"

"You know you are really playing with Elle by doing that with her and you have completely betrayed me so why should I help you, why should I even look at you right now?" She was pissed off, got dressed and left the room

"Annie, it did not mean anything, I wasn't happy about it"

"It takes 2 people"

Gabriel went to say something but he knew she would probably slap him or worse, so he shut his mouth

"I don't blame you for hating me"

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Gabriel quietly let Antonia into her room and whispered "Stay in the closet, don't make a sound"

"It might just be my sister, she may have forgotten her key" Antonia whispered

"Just do it!" he hissed at her and Gabriel shifted into Antonia, for a moment he had to chuckle to himself, because how she walks in these heels he will never know.

Antonia answered the door and was greeted by Bennett he looked frazzled

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I just wanted to come by I believe your car may have accidentally rear ended my car in the parking lot yesterday and I would like to talk to you about it"

"Oh it couldn't have been mine, I barely left yesterday"

"I think I should come in"

"I know who you are, you tried to abduct my brother. Now I am assuming you're hear about Gabriel"

"Sylar shot my wife. My son didn't get hit thank goodness, just passed out from the shock of seeing his mom hurt, she'll be fine too"

"I don't think it could have been him, from what I understand he was otherwise occupied" she smirked

"Where is he?"

"He could be anywhere with this shape shifting ability"

"He could be you"

Antonia laughed "He could be you, what's your point?"

He grabbed her "I could make you talk, I could put a phone call in right now and I guarantee you we'll find your son and everyone you love and make them forget you ever existed"

"I don't know where he is, I got rid of him a long time ago"

"Why?"

"He's a murderer, he killed Elle and countless other people"

"I know he's here"

"You can look for him under the bed but all you'll find is some dust and maybe a sock..." Antonia stood up and motioned him to follow her. She turned her back to him and felt the searing pain of bullets hitting the back of her head and she fell.

Antonia was in the closet when she heard the shots, they were silenced but one can hear something amiss in a quiet apartment like this. She heard the door close and on shaky knees got up when she heard a scream.

She saw her sister over her body, she felt nauseous seeing herself dead

"Kayla"

"...what is this?"

"Long story, this is Gabriel, he's a shape shifter. He was trying to protect me, he can heal and Bennett was coming after me"

"He's not healing"

"He will be soon enough"

She remembers when she saw her brothers double dead but it is quite another to see yourself lying an a pool of blood. Antonia went to the hospital and was able to smuggle out several pieces of surgical equipment. Part of her kicked herself for doing something so unethical to someone who had betrayed her but if he was going to die it would be on her terms and not the never ending drama of getting shot, stabbed, blown up, electrocuted and then regenerating, it was getting tiresome. She gently removed the bullets and he began to heal and reverted back to his original form.

"Thanks for getting me killed Gabriel"

"You saved me"

"Yea, it's getting to be a habit"

"Annie, he doesn't know if I am dead or not, but either way he feels like he has a leg up now. Either I am seriously wounded or you're dead. The only way I can never regenerate is if I'm decapitated"

"You're full of blood, you had better get a shower and we need to get the carpet clean"

"You seem disappointed I'm alive. What do you need to do to feel better? You can stab me, set me on fire, beat me to a bloody pulp, send me through a wood chipper WHAT, what can I do"

"You're not a punching bag"

Kayla shook her head and thanked her lucky stars that her ability just made her exceedingly clever and not some sort of crazy masochist. "Why are you two fighting again?"

"Kayla, Gabriel has proven to be a typical man who cannot keep his pants up"

"I've murdered people and you can't get over cheating, once and I didn't want to do it"

"No one forced you Gabriel"

"Who did he sleep with?"

"His presumed dead ex girlfriend"

"Oh.....I am going to need therapy Tonia, lots and lots of therapy" Kayla left to give them some privacy and Gabriel cupped her chin "If you didn't love me Annie, you would have let me stay dead" and he kissed her on the cheek

"You're still covered with blood" he was still locking his eyes with hers which frustrated her, she was still royally pissed him and he would have to make it up to her a lot

"I guess I couldn't conjole you in helping me get cleaned up?"

"Not a chance, the fact that you and I made love 2 hours after you slept with another women kind of makes me sick"

"I'll make it up to you, and one day maybe you will understand why I did it, you are the only one I want" he hugged her "I would do anything for you and I mean anything"

"I know Gabriel"

He went to clean up and Antonia tried to clean her blood off of the carpet. Luckily it was white so she may be able to use bleach. She scrubbed and scrubbed and even when it seemed like there was no stain their anymore she still felt disgusting.

Later in the night Antonia was relaxing with a good book. Gabriel hadn't left their room and she wanted him to leave as soon as possible. When he finally emerged she noticed his eyes were red and he sat next to her. She didn't think he was in their crying the whole time, since it was unlike him.

"If you tell me what to do, to get you to love me again I'll do it."

"There is nothing you can do"

"I tried so hard, you came back into my life and you accepted me and let me do what I needed and I make one mistake and you hate me. Above everything I have done, this is what you hate me for"

"This is different, it is a huge betrayal"

"I know"

"You were willing to die for Elle, you wanted to be with HER and the second you find out she is alive, you go back"

"I would die for you a hundred times"

"Don't do that"

"If you don't care about me, then there's nothing left to lose. I'm going just..."

"What?"

"You'll see"

"Don't do anything foolish"

He smiled at her "I never do, no one is EVER going to hurt you Annie, but I swear to you. You will never, ever in your whole life find ANYONE that loves you more than me. So you can never see me again, you can move on to someone you think is better. Maybe he won't make a mistake, he'll be perfect, a good dad to Noah. He will be the person you're supposed to be with, you'll grow old, have grandchildren maybe, but he won't be me and that will kill you"

He kissed her gently and she just felt numb, she was stressed out and thinking about his words. She couldn't cry and didn't want to give him the satisfaction but she couldn't help but hate that he was leaving and hate him at the same time.

"If I walk out the door, I'm not coming back and I'm not chasing you. You can find me" he kissed her again "I love you" and he left her sitting on the couch silently.

he watched him leave and took a deep breath. She ran down the stairs and yelled his name. He turned around and looked at her kind of coldly

"What?"

"I don't want you to leave..."

"Then what do you want from me, I can't deal with this right now. I've done everything I can do"

"I'm not going to forgive you in a day, but I do love you and I want to be with you again at some point, I just don't know when"

"I'm not going to beg"

"I'm not going beg either Gabe"

He hugged her tightly and kissed her again "Just let me know, but I don't know where I'll be...or what will happen before then"

"I know" Antonia was trying hard not to cry but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He walked away again without looking back and she could vaguely hear him sniffling, he looked so sad and she kept thinking it was for the best.

Antonia went back her apartment and her sister tentatively came out of her room and saw Antonia laying on her bed

"Hey you, are you okay?" Kayla stroked her sisters hair

"Part of me wants to listen to sad music and eat chocolate and the other part of me wants to just forget and move on"

"He's gone for good"

"Yea, and I'm afraid to go to sleep because I know it will tell me something horrible now"

"You don't know that"

"I broke his heart and he will never admit it" Antonia sighed "I just broke him and I didn't mean to"

"It's not your fault"

"It is, not the cheating but I didn't have to let him go. Now he's going to do something dumb and get himself killed, and there will be no going back"

"He's a smart guy, he'll be fine"

"No, I know how he is...it's going to get bad, very, very bad"

Kayla got her a glass of wine and put on a movie and sat with her. She eventually fell asleep and Kayla was startled when her sister started screaming. It was the most blood curdling sound she had ever heard in her life. Antonia was pale and grabbed her sisters arm and was shaking.

"Tonia" she put her arms around her sister "It's okay, it was a dream"

"Oh, my god..."

Kayla handed Antonia some water and encouraged her to breathe, which was hard for her.

'What happened?"

"It was horrible Kayla, something horrible is going to happen and no one can stop it"

"What did you see?" her sister was stroking her hair trying anything to calm her down

"It started with his mass grave I saw, there were flashes of light, it looked like explosions and I saw SO many people dead and those who weren't dead were emaciated. There was fighting, I don't know where I was but I saw Sylar and he was laughing and then someone decapitated him, I don't know who...but it was too late and there was another explosion and I was watching it and it was the whole US...he lost all that was good. I told you Kayla...I told you it would be bad."

"So you're going to try to save everyone by getting back together with someone you hate'

"I don't HATE him Kayla, I'm mad...but he is not the most rational person when he is hurt. He understands everything and if he wants to he can cause SO much trouble and pain...but if he wants to do good it can be amazing I'm sure."

"It's not going to end well, is it Tonia?"

"No, it's not...I need to find him. I'm calling Molly and then Traci and I have to change our plans"

"You may have to cut her out, it is one thing to do this politically and expose the people who are after us, the outcome might be bad for some. What you're talking about is basically wiping out the whole country"

"It could have just been a bad dream, I have those sometimes. I just cannot differentiate which ones are my ability and which ones are just my mind running amok"

"So find him and try to salvage what you have left, or take your chances"

Antonia found him as he was traveling across country. She finally caught up with him a couple of hours outside of the city. He was stopping to get gas and she walked towards him tentatively.

"Gabe"

"Annie, what are you doing here?"

"I thought about what you said. I had another one of my dreams, it didn't end well. It can't happen"

"What do you want me to do about it"

"We can stop it"

"I can do this on my own, I asked for you not to get in my way"

"I know how you get when you're hurt"

"I'm not hurt"

"Gabriel, let me come with you"

"No"

"Are you alone or meeting someone'

"I can't get into it now"

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the lips. "I hate you for so many reasons" she kissed down his throat and on his chest and she felt his grip become tighter

"This is the last time Annie, I can't keep doing this"

"It's getting annoying" he started to reciprocate her kissing and he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back to taste her and he lifted her up to carry her to the car.

"You're insane Ceppaglia, did you know that? Certifiable and I love it, and I love you and I swear to you..." he trailed off as he laid her in the back seat and they reunited yet again.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where are we actually going Gabe"

"For now, we're going to stay somewhere for the evening, then we're headed back east"

"I should give my sister my credit card number so she can get home"

"I thought she was looking for schools?"

"That's finished, she needs to get back. I need to get back one day for work"

"It'll be there for you"

"And Noah?"

"Once we're done, we'll go for him. I would actually recommend that maybe they could could out here"

"Gabriel...."

"It's nothing bad, maybe they would like a vacation?"

They arrived at a hotel and got a room for the night. She called her family to let her know she was okay. The room was nicer than she had expected for laying low and she doubted it would have been this nice had she not been with him. She took a warm shower and sat with Gabriel on the little couch in their room. He nuzzled against her neck and started to rub her back.

"I just can't stop thinking of the fact that when I'm 80, you're going to be just like this. How can that work?"

"You'll be a milf until at least 60, so we have 30 years to worry about it'

"Be serious"

"I don't want to be serious right now, you'll be the hottest one at the old age home"

"Why would I be in a retirement home Gabriel?"

"I can see you wanting to go to one after everyone starts calling me your grandson"

"You and Claire will be the only ones left"

"I can find ways around it"

"Really now'

"You'll be a stunning 70 year old woman like Helen Mirren"

"Stop, I'll have false teeth, wrinkles and be dating a 30 year old immortal..whatever the hell you are"

"False teeth...that might be advantageous for things" he smiled at her and raised his eyebrows a couple of times. She whacked his shoulder

"Is that ALL you think about? Seriously for an evolved human, you're kinda simple"

He kissed her and pulled her shirt off "When it comes to you, I sure as hell am"

"You're not going to want to do this when I have liver spots"

"That's why we have to get it all in now" he chuckled and she quickly got rid of the rest of her clothes and all of his.

"Gabriel"

"That's right baby, you'll like this...." he said in a deep raspy voice, she swears to herself that when he talks like that he legs turn to jelly.

"Is that your idea of dirty talk..." she moaned

"First I'm going to put my tongue..." then whispered some incredibly obscene things in her ear that she had never heard before.

"No, wait. Is that physically possible?"

"Shhh, don't make me use telekinesis to shut you up" He silenced her by touching her just where she loved it the most and her body arched back and she screamed. She collapsed next to him and slowly ran her hand over his chest.

"See this is going to get us into trouble"

"No, it's perfect. How else is Noah going to get his little sister?"

"It is very soon, he is very young"

"It's perfect, they can be close in age and he can look after his sister at school and make sure she is okay."

"If that doesn't happen"

He stretched out and smiled at her "then we had fun trying" and he kissed her again "we have a busy day tomorrow, good night"

Gabriel was unable to sleep, as most nights. Luckily with his regenerating ability he could go with only an hour or so of rest a night. Antonia rolled over to see him laying there and staring at the ceiling.

"Hey you, why are you still awake?" She was trying to adjust her eyes to the dark

"I hate sleeping"

"Why? Are you feeling alright?"

"Yea, I'm just thinking. I guess I get a little nervous being so vulnerable"

"You feel vulnerable when you're sleeping?"

"Yes, except when I'm with you. I feel safe with you Annie" he said very softly and pulled her close

"Do you need me to stay awake while you rest, or do you just want to check out and head to DC now?"

"I'm glad I can't die, no one would care except for you"

"People would care"

"They would celebrate"

"Don't say that, just look at it as having all of the time in the world..to do whatever you want, what you need. You can make amends. People are going to forget what you did"

"What I'm going to do" he ran his hands up and down her back and kissed her on her cheek "I am so glad I have you and Noah, I am going to be the best dad"

"Yes you are"

"If you ever left me, and met someone else just remember Noah is mine"

"I gave birth to him sweetie"

"Noah is mine" he said very firmly. "No one else will raise him but you and I"

"That is the plan Gabe. Are you sure you don't want to rest, I can stay up"

"That might be nice" he dozed off in her arms.

When they finally arrived on the east coast again it was early morning. Gabriel encouraged Antonia to go see her family and Traci soon. She wanted to hold her baby boy again as well, though she knew she was doing this so he could have a bright future, she still missed him. He was so young and growing so fast. She wanted Gabriel to bond with him but knew she would have to wait.

"I am going to see Nathan's family while I'm here, it's probably best you're not with me anyway" Gabriel smiled at Antonia and ruffled her hair a bit

"Do you know any of his family members besides Claire, Peter and Angela?"

"I don't need to, I have to talk to Claire about something"

"Talk to Claire? Why she's 17, she is a child"

"Look at you getting worried" he rubbed her shoulder lightly

"I'm worried about her, not so much you chatting up a teenager, but I am worried, she doesn't like you sweetie"

"She'll learn to"

"I doubt it"

"See now you're getting possessive and insecure Annie" he laid back on the couch of Antonia apartment in the city. They were to go their separate ways soon.

"Yes, clearly I am" Antonia said, sarcasm dripping from every word "If you want a child and not a woman, be my guest"

Gabriel was smiling through this whole exchange, he loved getting her riled up like this and teasing her. "Who is this woman you're talking about Annie?" he pulled her close to him and kissed her

"I have some interesting things in my bedroom that I could show you Sylar, things only a woman knows how to use"

"You call me that again and you'll get spanked hard and I guarantee you'll like it"

"I should call you that more often Sylar" she pulled his shirt off and ran her hands down his chest

He looked down "I'd prefer you didn't" he mumbled and carried her to her bedroom where he was sure he would be tied up or strapped into something unmentionable and at that point wasn't thinking clearly enough to care. He needed to clear his head and this was the perfect way to do it. There was still so much stress and so much worry within him and he didn't know if it was his new ability taking a toll or if it was something else, something worse.

Antonia returned to her moms house and called Traci to meet her there. They had a nice dinner with her family and she felt normal again. Hours turned into days which turned into a week and Antonia hadn't heard from Gabriel. All calls went to voice mail and eventually the number was disconnected. She was terrified something had happened to him.

Early one morning she was awoken by a knock at the door. The sun was streaming in her window. The knocking became pounding and it wouldn't let up. Antonia wrapped her blue silk robe around her. She was wearing one of Gabriel's tshirts that she had stolen long ago and it hung down to her knees.

Peter was at the door, she hadn't seen her friend in a long time and when she saw the expression on his face she realized he wasn't there for morning coffee and a chat.

"It's bad Tonia, I...." he was pale and she led him inside and got him a glass of water

"Peter, what happened?"

"My brother and my mom are fine, there was an attack at Building 26, have you put on the news yet?"

"No" She was with Traci all night working on their plan, which was to infiltrate these groups from within and was long, complicated but in the end they believed it would work.

"They were attacked, Claire, she's dead"

"How can Claire die? I thought she couldn't die Peter?"

"If she's decapitated she can't heal"

"WHAT?" Antonia felt sick to her stomach

"I can't explain what happened yet, but it was bad. I don't fully understand what happened. All I know is that Claire is dead and Sylar is too"

"No, why was he there Peter?"

"Tonia, you don't want to hear this, but he was behind all of it"

She could believe it even if she didn't want to

"How can he be dead, did someone?" she didn't want to think of anyone hurting him like that.

"No, he lost his powers, I took them"

"So he's gone and Claire is gone?"

"Yes"

"Peter I need you to leave now"

"Tonia"

"No LEAVE!" Please, I can't be of help to you right now. Go back to your family" Antonia was still surprisingly calm. She went to tell Kayla who grew to know Claire and considered her a friend.

She devoted her time to helping her sister. Never talking about Gabriel. She had a small memorial service for him but couldn't talk about him. She sometimes couldn't leave the house, but being stagnant was unbearable.

After weeks she allowed herself to dream again. In her dream she was in her apartment. She was just getting home from work and she saw Gabe on the couch, he had jeans and a white button up shirt and his hair was spiked

"Did you just get home Gabe"

"Yes" he kissed her "What do you think of Natalie. Natalie Virginia Gray"

"For what?"

"Our little girl"

She woke up startled. This couldn't have been a dream for the future. When she finally left the house she walked, walked for what seemed for hours. Numb, she was unable to cry, Kayla tried to make her deal with her grief but she couldn't. She passed places they went, smiled at happy memories of him and sat in Central Park reading a book with the sun beating down on her, and no matter how hard she tried, she was tough and did not cry.

That same day her brother Seth had a doctors appointment. He dreaded his weekly appointments with his therapists. He was fine now and talking about how he did not see multiples of himself eating tacos in Spanish Harlem is a good thing now did not feel conducive to a fulfilling life.

Just seemingly by chance while waiting for his appointment he overheard a hushed conversation between 2 doctors. He heard the name "Petrelli" and heard mentions of someone with a high amount of psychosis, delusions of grandeur then heard the name "Gray" Seth didn't want to believe it at first, but knew he had to delve more into this for his sister, if there was a chance Gabriel could be alive he had to take it.

When Antonia finally returned to her apartment it was night time. She curled up on the couch as she normally did and poured her glass of wine, which was quickly becoming a bottle nearly every night. No matter what she tried, she couldn't feel anything. Her sister brought her over food which she just picked at.

Kayla came over that night to sit with Antonia, she shared stories about Claire and their brief friendship, she had very fond memories of her and trying to make Antonia laugh. Her sister was stoic.

"You loved him so much Tonia, why can't you talk about him?'

"He's gone, and I can't think of it. He was glad he was immortal, because then he wouldn't have to face any judgment, he had so long to change and turn over a new leaf, but that was taken from him. The universe is funny" she sipped her wine and shrugged

"You can't go on like this forever, drinking your pain away....you HAVE to deal with it"

"NO! Kayla, I don't have to deal with it. How can anyone understand. If I cry I will be weak and I will NEVER STOP CRYING EVER!" She felt anger bubbling up inside of her and she was shaking she was so mad

"You're angry"

"I am angry, I am pissed off at the fact that we were hunted, that he couldn't be happy with his life that in his need to PROVE something that I don't understand, that he is dead....I don't understand, he understood, I don't and I am pissed"

"I have something for you. He never told me to give it back to you, but I thought this might be something you want one day' her sister pulled out the rose quartz and diamond ring Gabriel gave her in California. Kayla put it on the coffee table "You don't have to wear it, it is here..."

"I don't know what to do with it Kayla"

"Put it in your jewelry box. Don't do anything rash like sell it or throw it out of the window"

"I'm stupid, I thought we were going to be a family"

"You're not stupid Tonia" she rested her head on her sisters shoulder and rubbed her back "You cared about someone and sometimes we can't choose who comes into our lives or how we feel about them"

"I hate him"

"I know"

"Why did he have to leave me? Here I was worried about dying first and now he is gone. I miss him"

Kayla saw her sisters eyes starting to brim and hugged her tightly.

"What do you miss?"

"Him"

"That's a good start"

The sisters talked well into the night while Seth was trying to piece together what he had heard and exactly what happened that night at Building 26.

It wasn't often that Seth invited his mother to lunch. He was tremendously busy since he has started working again and to be honest their relationship was a bit strained. He knew his mom had ties to the Petrelli family and has known Angela for 20 years.

She arrived at the restaurant, a new American Cuisine cafe in uptown Manhattan, Seth wasn't crazy about it but knew his mother loved it and the best way to get information out of his mother was to butter her up.

"Seth, how are you feeling dear?" she sat down and starting perusing the menu

"Fine, I have rehearsal in a couple of hours but I thought it might be nice to catch up"

"Are you working with that Laura woman? The one from the musical about the movie?"

"No, I'm doing Arthur Miller"

"Of course" she chuckled at her son "Do you still talk to Lisa"

"Lisa, mom she threw herself in front of my car when I broke up with her and slashed all of my underwear, she's a bit nuts"

"I don't understand why my children cannot find sane people to date"

"Lisa was sane compared to Tonia's taste in men"

"Yes, that one is hard to explain"

"If you met Gabriel and really got to talk to him, I can see why she would like him"

"I have met Gabriel, he was interesting"

"It's scary what happened in DC, I'm glad Tonia and Kayla weren't there"

"It was horrible"

"So, do you know what happened?"

"Seth, I think I want the salmon, do you want to get wine?"

"I can't drink, I have rehearsal"

"Well you're playing a drunkard"

Seth sighed "You're changing the subject mom"

"Let it go"

"What do you know?" Seth whispered across the table "I was at the hospital, at my therapists and I heard doctors talking about Gabriel, he's alive isn't he?"

"Let it GO Seth"

"You're going to let Tonia think he is dead"

"She's better off"

"Where is he?"

His mother got up "Thank you for lunch" and started to walk out. Seth got up to follow her and grabbed her arm

"I won't let this happen, and I won't keep your secret"

"Seth, it is safer for him where he is. He tried to to destroy the Bennets and Petrelli's. Things got very bad, he tried to kill Peter. There was a lot fighting and an explosion. One of the guards hit Claire with an ax"

"Gabriel didn't try to kill Claire"

"No, he tried to save her"

"Why?"

"I don't know"

"I want to see him"

"Under one condition. You don't tell your sister"

"Fine'

Seth followed his mother to a hospital in Yonkers. It was surprisingly inviting and bright. She quietly spoke to one of the doctors and brought Seth down to the basement "He's not even in a room mom?"

"He's in a room, but we have to be careful, he's dangerous"

"He won't do anything to me"

Seth saw Gabriel sitting in a padded room in a straight jacket. He had a tube up his nose but he looked awake and alert. He was a bit beat up and could see bruises healing and red marks on his neck. Gabriel first saw Seth's mother and glared at her

"Get me the F- out of here you stupid piece of shit" he snarled at her

"That's not the way to talk to your mother in law Gabriel"

"Your daughter is going to hate you forever, she will never forgive you when she finds out that you and Angela put me here"

"It's for your own good, you can stay alive but you need help"

"You have me chained up like an animal, it's disgusting. You are disgusting"

"How can I trust you around my daughter and grandchild"

"I wouldn't hurt them, but you, I'm not so sure"

"That's enough"

"The only thing that is making me not kill you with my bare hands is your daughter. You have no control over her anymore"

"I don't control anything"

"She's mine, Noah is mine. You won't see them again"

Antonia's mother was horrified, she had never seen Gabriel like this

"My daughter belong to no one. You can't keep them from me"

"It won't be me, she'll make that decision on her own, when she sees the person you are. She's a smart woman, she'll believe me over you. When she finds out who you are"

"She'll never know, because you will never leave. I explained this to you Gabriel, it's better that you are here"

"Then of course Kayla will listen to anything Annie tells her, I can destroy you. How can you not see this?"

"I'm not scared of you" she stood her ground and didn't let him see her fear.

"You should be, I've killed a lot of people for far less" he smiled at her sadistically "Your daughters mine"

She got right up to Sylar's face and whispered "what if she doesn't believe you, what if she is disgusted by you? Are you going to kill her? Like you did Elle?' She waited for him to say yes, to give her an excuse to keep him locked up. She thought of him as a logical man but backed into a corner he failed to see the bigger picture.

"No"

"You wouldn't kill her?" she looked surprised

"No, I couldn't. You couldn't protect her from being raped when she was 17, you couldn't protect her from Megan when she tried to kill her. I'm the one who took care of that animal who attacked her. You let her get attacked by her sister...you saw it, you and your husband and you did nothing. Elle, people watched by when she was stripped naked and electrocuted when she was 13...and you call yourselves parents. I swear to you, Noah will NEVER know that life. He will never know anything but love, respect. He will never want for anything. If I have to murder you ALL to keep that from happening I will."

She looked terrified now and saw her son out of the corner of her eye. She knew they hadn't been close in a long time, but was still surprised he didn't try to help her.

Seth walked in and asked his mom to leave, she begrudgingly did and Seth slammed the sound proof door behind her.

"Gabe, I'm glad your alive"

" I don't need help Seth, I need to get out of here. I tried to stop it. I knew I was doing something wrong. When I saw those agents trying to kill Claire I realized she didn't deserve that. I don't like her but she's a kid. I tried to help, it was the last thing I remembered. I woke up here"

"Claire is dead"

"How is Annie?"

"She's not feeling much"

"She misses me. How's Noah"

"Fine"

"I can't protect them the way I want to. I don't even know if I have my abilities. Please get me out of here"

"If you didn't have your abilities, what would you do"

"I don't know yet, I just want to see her again. Will you bring her here?"

"I'll try, but she shouldn't see you like this"

"Seth, don't you understand, she can get me out of here. A lot more than you"

"She will too, but you do realize that it'll be dangerous"

"Annie can do it, she has the power to destroy everything around her, she'll get me out"

"You'll let her live with that guilt, if innocent people die?"

"They're not innocent Seth"

"I'll see what I can do"

Seth and his mother drove silently back to the city. "Seth, whatever you're thinking of doing, I know you love your sister, but don't" she said before he closed the car door behind him.

It took him a couple of days but he couldn't do it, he could not keep this secret from Antonia. The spark had left his sisters eyes and she looked so alone. He said he was going to take her to dinner out of town and she accepted. When she saw the hospital she turned to her brother "So this is dinner? It's a mental hospital, or rehab...am I drinking THAT much, we're Italian we drink wine Seth...what is this?"

He had to laugh "I need you to see someone"

"Who?"

"Come with me, you need to know something but you're not going to believe it unless you see with your own eyes"

Seth knew at this time the main receptionist would be the daughter of the head doctor and someone rather smitten with him. All he had to do was smile at her and she was putty in her hand. Antonia rolled her eyes at her brother and the receptionist led them downstairs. Seth took his sisters hand and opened the door. She saw someone sitting in a cell, he was shackled and she saw his face.

"Gabe" she ran into him and fell to her knees, stroking his face and crying. She kissed his cheek and held him close "What did they do to you baby? I need to get you out of this" He was speechless and just stared at her "I thought I lost you, now you're back. What did they do to you?"

She released him from the jacket and pulled the tube out of his nose. She saw the bruises on his body and touched them lightly "I'm going to get you home, and then you tell me what happened, do you understand? Seth, get out of the building"

"Antonia"

"Get out of the building, have the car ready. I am getting him out of here and I want to know what the HELL is going on" she was angry. She revved up a storm that caused the power to go out. She helped Gabriel walked out of the building and held on to him tightly. When she finally got away she saw the hospital in shambles and hoped no one was hurt. She had a blanket in her car and wrapped it around Gabe.

She took him back to her apartment and ran a bath for him. He had been silent the whole time and she helped him clean up. He just looked at her the whole time, not saying a word. She made him dinner and had it set up for him after he got dressed. She was horrified at the marks on him, she didn't know why he wasn't healing. Since Peter had lied about Gabriel being dead she was not certain his abilities were gone. Maybe because of the drugs, he couldn't access them.

He came out in sweats and a t shirt and sat next to her on the couch.

"You haven't said anything since you came here"

"You're beautiful and I forget to tell you that sometimes" Gabriel smiled at her

"Thanks"

"Where's Noah?"

"Kayla took him on a walk, she's going to bring him back later"

"I want to see him"

"Okay" She stroked his face and kissed him again

"I need to fix your watch"

"You should rest Gabe"

"Give me your watch Annie"

She handed it to him and he found some screw drivers to take the back off. He looked worried at first, but then smiled "I know how to fix it, so maybe my abilities aren't gone?"

"Maybe, what happened Gabe?'

He kissed her "I don't want to talk now, later" He pressed himself against her and pushed her against the wall "I want you"

"I thought you were dead"

"I'm not, I'm here." His tongue was deeply in her mouth and his hips were grinding against hers. He winced a couple of times because he was still in some physical pain. Her skin and her scent was all he needed at that moment.


	12. Chapter 12

"In the morning I want to look you over, make you're okay" she kissed him on the lips again and laid her head on his chest.

"I'll be fine Annie"

"It's my job, I have to make sure you don't have any infections or internal bleeding'

"I don't have any of that"

"Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"I will, but you won't be happy. I am so enamored by you" he stroked her hair and kissed her passionately

"I love you too"

"You were incredible, you used your power to save me, you didn't think twice.'

"I didn't have a choice, you would have done the same"

"In a second" he held her close and he saw a little blue spark on her skin and she was startled for a second

"You shocked me!" Antonia smiled and brushed Gabriel's hair out of his face, which was becoming longer and longer lately.

"Are you sure?"

"It was a spark, a pretty blue spark"

"Maybe my abilities aren't gone?"

"Maybe not, what would you do if they were?"

"I would be very disappointed to say the least, but I don't want to talk about it"

"I hope you still have telekinesis" Antonia teased him and tickled his stomach

"We can talk more in the morning...it's been a long day. I love you"

"Love you too"

The next morning Antonia had the day off from work and Gabriel brought her breakfast in bed. Once he was sure she was relaxed and happy he took a deep breath to tell her what had been going on. She checked him over first and saw his bruises were healing quickly, faster than more people heal, she was secretly disappointed that he might get regeneration again. She still liked the idea of growing old with him, but she knew his abilities were as much a part of his identity as anything else.

"Annie, what I remember about what happened at Building 26 is very minimal. I went to try to get information on Nathan and other higher ups. With this I was going to go meet with the President"

"Of the United States"

Gabriel glared at her "No of the Famous Amos Cookies....." Antonia laughed

"Okay, be serious now Annie. I was getting ready to meet the President when there was an influx of agents, the Petrelli brothers and various others. There was a fight, and I remember Claire in the middle of all of this. They were angry because I had tried to talk to her earlier. She misinterpreted it and it was just a bad situation which I really did not want...I remember one of the agents, he hated Nathan you could tell...and he had something in his hand and I saw blood and I tried to go towards her to save her, she didn't deserve it and then I woke up chained up in a straight jacket'

"When I heard Claire was dead, I just assumed..."

"I know! I know, and I don't blame you for that"

"Now that was bad, very bad Gabe. I am so sorry it happened and I am SO glad you are okay"

"It gets worse"

"Okay"

"I woke up and Angela was there with someone"

"Who?"

"This is the part you are not going to like"

"Who was it Gabriel?"

"Your mom"

"What!" Antonia felt so betrayed "She said you were dead too, why did she do this?"

"She and Angela sent me away. Angela had one of her dreams and saw I would be better locked away in a basement if they couldn't kill me. Your mom is scared for you and Noah. She said I was too dangerous, I was controlling, crazy"

"I didn't realize she hated you, I feel so stupid"

"She doesn't hate me, I certainly hate her. I said some things to her"

"Like what?"

"I told her I wanted murder her with my bare hands and you were the only reason she was still alive"

"I bet she didn't appreciate that" Antonia said coldly. Normally she would hate anyone saying those things to her mom, however first with her sister dying and it being orchestrated that she would kill her and now this. She was being played with.

"I told her she would never see Noah again, I've seen families like this, what they do to their children"

"She will NEVER know him"

"What are you going to do Annie?"

"I'll be back, stay here. Kayla might come over, she needs to borrow some books and my red sweater"

At that same time Seth received a phone call. He saw the New York Times. A freak storm had hit Yonkers and tore apart a hospital, leaving the rest of the area unscathed.

"You told her Seth" he heard his moms voice on the other line

"I had to"

"You do realize we are all in serious trouble now"

"I'll take my chances" he hung up on his mother

Antonia wished she could fly or teleport. The traffic in NYC was so slow on her way to Long Island and every second she waited was another second that her anger built. She saw a storm brewing for miles and realized her ability was growing stronger.

When she finally arrived at her mothers house, the clouds were black and she swears if fire could exist in someones soul it was in her eyes at this moment.

"Mom"

"Antonia stay calm, just come in and we can talk"

She walked into her childhood home, which felt so foreign to her now, it felt cold and strange.

"How could you do this to me?" Antonia spat our her words and sparks in her hand, it was different than Elle's and she realized what it was

"Let me explain" She tried to get into her daughters mind but Antonia was blocking her somehow

"You used me first to kill Megan, you knew what I was going to do. You made me a murderer, for the greater good. What greater good? THEN you take away Gabriel from me, you chain him up like an ANIMAL. He was trying to save Claire, trying to be good but no you could never, ever let him be good. You just keep pushing him"

'I was NOT responsible for that and you know it Tonia" her mother was afraid of his change in her daughter, she felt as though she was being controlled by Gabriel

"He has been through so much, I would never excuse what he has done, but you and Angela using him, trying to manipulate him and me" she felt a slight explosion in her hand and glass shattered

"He IS a monster Antonia, he is using you for his own gain. He is not Gabriel the person you met over a year ago, he is not Noah's father, he is Sylar a serial killer"

She closed her eyes "I have killed as well, that is what you people do to your family. You think you're doing good, you have NO idea"

"He told me I would never see Noah and he would kill us if you ever left"

"I believe the first part but the second part is highly exaggerated. He was angry, I would be too"

"Antonia, please I am your mother"

"Stay away from us" she blasted her mother over onto the couch so she couldn't move. The weather cleared up. When she returned back to her apartment. She saw Kayla and Gabriel in the kitchen. There was a chess board set up and she saw Kayla with a knife and getting ready to stab Gabe

"Kayla!" she ran towards them

"Wait, no Tonia, sit down"

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing if he can heal, Gabe knew you wouldn't do it so I decided to"

"Do you have to do this" Antonia sighed

"Yes Tonia" Kayla smiled at her sister "then we are going to get back to playing chess, we have already played 30 games"

"Be serious Kayla, 30 games of Chess I have been gone for what, 2 hours..."

"Tonia, dear sister you are HIGHLY intellectual but you are dealing with 2 people on the beyond genius level of the spectrum"

"When you're done with this little trick, I need to talk to both of you. Also, why not just cut his arm, it is easier to fix if he doesn't heal than a stab wound"

Kayla cut Gabriels arm, at first he bled out heavily than quickly it became apparent that some of his healing was returning. He did not need a bandage and there was still a small mark but nothing worrisome.

Gabe put his arm around Antonia and kissed her "What did you need to talk to us about?"

Antonia explained to Kayla what was happening with her mother. She was so torn because she didn't want Kayla to hate their mother like Antonia and Seth were starting to, but she feared that she could start interfering in Kayla's life, which would lead to nothing but sadness and hurt.

Kayla was thoughtful and a bit horrified as to what was going on. She needed to be alone and took a walk. Antonia sat quietly on the floor rubbing her temples while Gabriel got her a glass of water.

"I know what I have to do, I know what they want me to become Sylar"

"Annie, the first time was cute but you have to stop calling me that" every time she said it he felt liked he was being punched.

"I need to be like you" she looked up at him with her green eyes blazing

"No, you don't"

"I need to learn how to not feel, how to hate, how to kill"

He lifted her up off of the floor "You don't feel that way, and you know it. You're just angry, you're not weak, you can defend yourself. You don't have to be heartless and vicious.."

"No, I have to, you take over every time I try. When you were gone, I couldn't do anything. I just sat back and did nothing."she shoved him hard

"Annie, if you want to fight with me it won't be a fair fight"

"Sylar"

He tkd her to wall and put his arm against her throat

"You're not pushing down, you can do it harder" she rasped

"You want to fight, you want to be a bad guy. Fine. Let's do it'

"What should I do"

"Do you know what it's like to watch someone die?"

"Yea, I've lost patients before"

"No, I mean REALLY watch someone die, watch the life drain out of their eyes. Listen to their screams. It's not pretty, they're terrifying. You have to be careful for all of the blood, it's not pleasant, the smell, what your body does when someone murders it is something you could not get used to Annie'

"I did it before"

"No, no you didn't. That was self defense. Get a knife and start sawing into my skull. Better yet, get a chainsaw and rip me apart all you want"

"Not to you"

"Why?"

"I can't do that to you Gabriel"

"You want to be a bad guy, you want to be evil and be able to have no remorse, you should be able to tear someone apart who can't can't care" he whispered in her ear and he felt her shaking.

"I am so angry"

"I know, but that doesn't mean you need to become this way. One of us has to have a heart" he held her close and stroked her hair "Let me get my hands dirty, not you"

She stood silently and held him close for what felt like hours.

Gabriel cupped her chin in his hands and smiled at her "I have an idea"

"What?"

"Let's get married"

"I thought we were already going to"

"No, I mean today. Now"

"Now!"

"We get married, just you and me...maybe you can invite your sister and brother. We have a nice dinner after...and then I take you back here alone and spend the whole night making you happy, I could make you very happy several times tonight" He kissed her "You have a white dress, let's go to the court house, you don't even have to change your last name"

She smiled brightly "Okay, let's do it!"

Antonia called Kayla and Seth to invite them out for the day. Gabriel even called Traci and Traci asked for Kayla's number and said she would attend. Traci made a few calls so that they could reserve a table at the best restaurant in the city for the makeshift reception. Kayla and Traci picked out a wedding gift for Antonia and presented it to her. It was a stunning strapless off white Vera Wang gown. Antonia's hair tumbled down her shoulders and she went to the court house to and saw Gabriel in his suit, looking incredible. Traci was still in her ridiculous wig and she exchanged vows with Gabriel and promised to love him forever, Gabriel's heart stopped for a second when he saw her. He knew at that moment he at least made one right decision. He kissed her before the vows and the judge scolded him for doing it, he didn't care, he just wanted her.

The food was amazing, they had wine and champagne and even had their first dance. They were going to be so happy. They planned a honeymoon in Paris and when he brought her home it was hard not to rip away the delicate zipper of her dress as he took his new bride to her room to celebrate their wedding.

That night Angela called Antonia's mother to let her know they were all in a lot of trouble.

"A woman is like a watch" Gabe held Antonia close him, stroking her hair and kissing her all over her lips and neck

"A watch?"

"Yes, I understand how complex systems like that work"

"Are you drunk sweetie?" she ran her hand down his chest

"No Mrs. Gray, I love the sound of that"

"It is nice. So women are complex systems. Our minds or other parts?"

"Both sweetie" he kissed her on the nose

"Good, so women equal watches"

"I worked on the same watch for 7 years"

"You did, I'm very proud of you"

"I wouldn't be as good with watches or women without my power"

"You're good with women?"

He rolled his eyes at Antonia and rolled over so he was hovering over her "I'm good with you, you have no complaints"

"Just one"

"What"

She whispered something in his ear that made him smile and he kissed her, his fingers trailed in between her legs "See, I can wind you up and watch you explode just like a watch"

Antonia grabbed the back of his head and kissed him harshly, pushing him so he could kiss her neck, chest, and stomach

"I don't think watches should explode"

"It is a metaphor Mrs. Gray"

"Hmmmm, a metaphor for what?"

He showed her again and again. They didn't know what was to come, but they knew that night was one they wouldn't soon forget.

The next morning they still lazily laid in bed. Seth had taken Noah for the night so they wouldn't be interrupted and they would head off to Paris later in the day.

Gabriel was still in heaven now, he had so much of what he wanted, he always felt like he needed something to cling to and now he was experiencing a family again, and the family was his own, it wasn't a lie or manipulated it was his to love and protect.

"Gabe, I wish your mom could have been at the wedding"

'Me too, she would have loved it"

She kissed him gently on the lips "Do you think she would have liked me?"

He hesitated for a second, he had never spoken about his mom with her before, not at length and while he did love his mother, he wasn't sure if Antonia would have lived up to his mother's extreme and often times unobtainable expectations.

"She would have loved how happy you made me and doted on our son" he stroked her hair

"I'm sad my mom couldn't be there, but I just can't forget this betrayal" he snuggled up to him "I don't know if i feel comfortable enough with her to be involved with Noah or Natalie..."

Gabriel's eyes became wide "Who is Natalie?"

Antonia blushed "It was a dream I had, our daughter's name is Natalie, or it was in that dream...you know how it is with me"

"I see, that's a pretty name" he kissed her "if we had another child it would be an amazing gift"

Antonia lazily yawned and stretched out "no, it would be biology because of unprotected sex..."

Gabriel looked at her and frowned "our baby is not all about science, they are a gift...and it is amazing"

Antonia stroked his face "I love how mister logic, emotions make you weak gets so gooey over babies"

"You make it so clinical Annie..." he got out of bed and and got their suitcases to pack "It's because you had to deal with Noah without me, you didn't get the happiness you deserved at first, but now it will be different, if we have another baby one day it will be wonderful."

Antonia smiled sadly at him "I hope so Gabe"

"You don't have to hope, it will be amazing. I told you we would be a family Annie, and I'm not going back on my word"

That same day Antonia's mother visited Seth.

"Angela called me, she had a dream again. A horrible dream about a disaster, your sister is going to die now"

"What?"

"What did they do Seth" she started to yell and grabbed her son by the arms

"They're married mom!"

"Oh Seth...no..." she sat down on the couch sadly "she didn't tell me, now it is too late"

Paris was amazing in spring, the song was right. Antonia had never been and spoke a little French, basically what she studied on the plane. Gabriel spoke it fluently. They went to museums, went site seeing and ate delicious food. While they were enjoying themselves on their honeymoon Antonia's mother was growing more and more concerned.

"Mom, you have to remember that Tonia has these dreams too. Why is she dreaming of happiness when Angela is seeing these horrible things and WHY is she dreaming of her, why doesn't she dream of her own family?' Seth was getting irritated now.

"She'll start to have them soon enough, where are they now?"

"On their honeymoon" Seth sighed "I am not telling you where they are"

"Seth Angela's dream took place after Antonia had a child. She was kidnapped and murdered"

'Not by Gabe...he wouldn't hurt her, he wouldn't her his child"

"It wasn't his baby, she had an affair"

Seth scoffed "Mom, I CANNOT deal with this right now, I have to go. Just....just leave her alone"

Seth left and decided to get a drink at a bar in midtown. He finished his beer and the bartender gave him another one "this is from the pretty blond at the end of the bar" he turned around to see a petite woman, very cute with what he thought were bright blue eyes. He raised his bottle to her and sent her a drink as well and smiled at her.

The last night in Paris was amazing. Gabriel was concerned when Antonia woke up screaming.

"Was it another one of your dreams Annie, I thought you were taking care of it"

"No, no not that. I sometimes just have regular nightmares..." she sniffled

"No one is going to hurt you, I will never let them" he kissed and cuddled her

"I know, it is not a big deal. It is nothing to worry about"

"Do you want to take a walk"

"Yea, a midnight stroll sounds so nice"

"I love you Mrs. Gray"

"I love you too Mr. Gray"

The blond approached Seth and sat next to him. She was wearing black boots, black pants and a red top. He noticed she was wearing a lot of make up which took him aback because she was so young but the noticed she had a small scar on her face.

"Hey there, you look fun"

"I am fun"

"Really? Why is that?"

"I'm an actor..."

"mmm, so you're not into girls"

"I am VERY into girls"

"Good for me, so fun guy what do you like to act like"

"Anything you want me to be. Thanks for the beer"

"My pleasure, do you have a name?"

"Seth"

"Elle"


	13. Chapter 13

Antonia and Gabe returned home after their week in Paris. Kayla picked them up from the airport with Noah and they got some dinner and shared stories, pictures and gifts.

Kayla looked hesitant and was picking at her food "So mom knows you two are married and she says Angela is having her dreams again"

Gabriel sighed "I will deal with your mother Kayla and I will deal with Angela"

"Your _dealing_ with people doesn't usually turn out well" Kayla may have been annoyed with her mother at this time but didn't want to see her hurt.

"Let me talk to my mother first Gabriel before you go and use your telekinesis mojo" Antonia squeezed his knee "I am feeling a bit nauseous, just jet lagged I'm sure" she smiled.

"Oh and Seth mentioned he has a date with a woman later in the week, he will probably call and want to get together with you 2"

"Have you met her yet?" Antonia was interested, Seth hasn't dated in a while.

"Not yet, but he seems to like her so far"

"Good for him"

They headed home and they did get a call from Seth inviting them our for the next night.

Antonia wasn't feeling well but she owed her brother so she and Gabe headed out for dinner downtown at a little trendy restaurant that Seth loved. Antonia noticed her brother was already there and saw the woman he was with. Her knees buckled and she took a deep breath in. She went out to Gabriel who was parking the car and grabbed his arms

"You know babe, I am not feeling well, maybe we should cancel"

"You look fine, sweetie we are already here"

"No, no wait. I feel faint. Maybe we should go NOW"

Gabe looked at her oddly "We're here, you're probably just hungry"

Antonia revved up her power a bit "I will make you stop, don't test me Gabe"

He chuckled at her "Annie, you're so cute"

"Don't patronize me"

"I'm not" he kissed her "if you're good and go in I'll do that trick you wanted me to do tonight"

"That's tempting, maybe you can shape shift into someone else. What about that guy over there" she pointed at a man in tight bell bottoms, a sheer tank top with "69" on the front, blue spiked hair and nose rings "sweetie....um, I don't think..." Gabe ruffled her hair "what has gotten into you babe"

He took her hand and walked into the restaurant. He saw Seth and closed his eyes when he saw his date "is this a joke?' he whispered

"No, he has a date with Elle..." she whispered back

"Let's go, this should be interesting"

They approached the table. Antonia in a pink skirt and white tank, Gabe in his jeans and a black button up top and looked perfectly happy and normal approaching her brother and Elle with a big smile on their face

"Hi Seth!' Antonia said happily, he stood up to hug his sister and shake Gabe's hand.

Elle glared at Gabriel and turned to Antonia "hey there stormy"

"Hi Elle"

Seth looked confused "you know each other?"

"In a matter of speaking" Antonia sat down next to Gabriel, making sure he was far away from Elle.

"This is your sister and her HUSBAND" she laughed

"Yes, you know him"

"Oh, you can say I know him, I know him VERY well right down to the..."

"ELLE! Have you ever eaten here? I haven't" Antonia interrupted

Gabe finally spoke "Elle and I dated a while back"

Elle laughed "dated yes, if you want to call it THAT" she sipped her wine

"Why did you break up?" Seth asked innocently and felt the sharp sting of his sisters stiletto "what!?" he hissed

Gabriel was becoming red and wringing his hands "Elle and I were not right for each other. She lied to me, I wasn't special enough for her"

"I lied to him about something I didn't know about ....I flinched because I was tired and had been shot and had been teleported to the beach and he killed me, or tried after I gave him the best sex I have ever given"

"It was your first time Elle"

"No one asked you!" she revved up some of her electricity and Antonia was guzzling water

"You're fine now Elle and we talked about this"

"Now he is with your sister..." Elle shook her head

"Did you know in Paris there are street performers and I swear they are amazing Seth" Antonia interjected trying to break the ice

"You tried to kill me too Elle AND you kidnapped Annie, you are not innocent"

"You know what SYLAR you can play this game all you want but we all know how crazy you are...about me" she winked

"Elle you're so playful" Seth put his arm around her and she shocked him "you know what I say, you get used to it and then you start to like it!"

Antonia grabbed Gabe's hand under the table and gritted her teeth, whispering to him "I told you, I'll be awaiting my present when we get home"

They made it through dinner unscathed and Seth took Elle home to discuss some things, he liked her a lot but thought she might have some trust issued when it came to men. However when they got to his apartment she had no problem in that area at all. He admitted he was slightly intimidated that she had been with his sisters husband before, he realized he should discuss it with her but for the moment he felt that delicious electricity too much to resist.

Gabe wasted no time when arriving home kissing his wife deeply on the lips, his mouth was warm against her neck and she heard buttons flying and he roughly dragged her to the kitchen counter and got on his knees and brought her to the most extreme pleasure she had ever felt before carrying her to the bedroom and lightly tying her arms back with his belt and flipping her over "I am so sorry baby, you had to go through that" he ran his fingers over her breasts and she felt the warmth of his breath against her

"It's okay. Now where is my present"

He smiled a very naughty smile and was amazed by how flexible she was as he twisted her around and gave her the most intense orgasm she had ever had but something felt different. Her stomach went back to hurting but she ignored it and he released her from his belt and she pulled him close to her and sat on his lap gently and started biting his neck and shoulders hard "that hurts" he moaned as he felt himself healing

"You're getting your powers back, you are so powerful and amazing" she kissed him again and started rubbing him gently and he sighed "you know you could probably whip me pretty good and I wouldn't have a mark on me" he whispered in her ear, that voice that she swears brings her to the brink every time she hears it, he could be saying "pass the salt" and she would be his

"I could spank you with a paddle" she pulled his hair

"Yes, that would work" he laid her down and she cringed

"Are you okay"

"Yes, I'm fine. Something I ate didn't agree with me, now shhh" she kissed him again and led him inside her "I love you"

Antonia had her first dream in a while. She was walking back from the coffee shop, the one that she has never entered again, the one that she refused to walk past. It was the one she went to the night she was raped. It brings back horrible memories. In her dream she was already scared. She saw Nathan walking towards her and he ran his hands down her arms "Annie" he whispered.

"Why are you calling me that Nathan"

He tried to kiss her and she pulled away and was shaking harder and pressed her against the front of the shop and started unbuttoning her shirt "Annie, please"

She scratched him in the face and kneed him and began running. She stopped moving mid run and he came up to her "Why are you running from me, I'm your husband"

"No you're not. Gabriel...he is"

He kissed her, his lips were thinner than Gabriel's and dry. His body was bulkier "You're not, stop"

"I love you Annie, let me"

She woke up with a gasp and saw Gabriel was not there.

Antonia knew he was gone many nights, he seemed distant at times but it was him. It was part of his personality and often was secretive until he really needed to tell her, to keep her safe.

He was on the couch and looked like he was crying. She got on her knees "Are you okay?"

He nodded "yea, it's this new ability I have. I think it is getting too much sometimes"

She hugged him "can you not control it?"

"No, I can't" he laughed "I hate that"

She felt suddenly a bit dizzy and felt that familiar pain in her stomach, she was wondering if it was just nerves

"Annie, I am afraid I'm going to get up one morning and I won't see me"

"We'll get through it"

"I will, on my own. I am going away for a couple of days" he kissed her on the cheek

"Gabriel, you have to tell me what's going on. I'm worried about you"

"Fine, I'm going to a watch convention"

Antonia rolled her eyes "right, a watch convention"

"I have to finish what we started, when it comes to Nathan. Everyone thinks I am dead, there's no stopping me now"

"No matter what I say, you're going to do whatever you want to do" Antonia sighed and shook her head "just be careful" she kissed him "Come back to bed"

She took his hand and led him back to bed

The next day Antonia's mother called Angela to discuss the dreams she had been having. She said her dream of Antonia involved her having a child with one of her sons and getting killed by Sylar. It was only one time and very vague, but her intuition told her something bad was going to happen very soon.

Antonia went to the hospital anxious to know what was going on with her. She thought she may be pregnant and was getting excited with the idea. She thought of cute or clever ways to tell Gabe. She imagined the look on his face, she never got to see it with Noah. She never had her feet rubbed by him or got to decorate a nursery. He wants a family so badly, and she thought it was a perfect time. Something good in her life when people kept leaving her and betraying her. She had a few good friends, traveled, had a good job, why not?

The doctor told her she had a slight infection and gave her antibiotics. She didn't realize how much she wanted one until she found out she wasn't. Antonia pressed the doctor for more information and set up an appointment with her OBGYN ,she was concerned it was more than an infection.

Antonia's mother received a frantic phone call from Angela. She told her to come to a hotel immediately in Washington DC. When she arrived she saw her friend covered in blood and sobbing. Nathan was dead, her eldest son and Sylar was laying on the couch. Sylar was being brainwashed to believe he was Nathan. Her mother looked horrified

"Angela, I cannot be a party to this. I am sorry for your loss of course, but...this is my son in law, whether I like it or not. My daughter will hate me, I cannot help you Angela, I WON'T" she stormed out of the room, she was tired of cleaning up peoples dirty laundry. For years she was a party to these things, she made the mistake once when she let Antonia think Sylar was dead, but that was because she was so sure of Angela's dreams she needed to keep her daughter safe. This was going far, taking away someones memories good and bad, changing them. How would she explain this? She called her daughter to tell her to go to DC right away

It was late when Antonia saw her mother. She brought Noah with her and her mother stayed with him as she saw a big fire. Antonia's mother took her car keys and drove away with Noah and she saw her Gabriel laying there in the midst of the fire. She glanced back at her mother and realized what she wanted her to do. She got angry and sent forth rain, wind and a huge storm to put the fire out. She didn't care if any of these people lived, they couldn't do this to him.

It was so strong she passed out and when she awoke she was alone and went to see him. She got on her knees and saw he wasn't healing. She was confused and looked over his body to see if there was something stuck. Checking his eyes, pulse everything..something wasn't right.

She tried calling his cell phone and it just rang. She didn't hear it on his person and the clothes he was wearing didn't look like his...

Antonia called her mother to have them come back to her and get her out of there. As she was waiting a hand was placed on her shoulder and she saw Nathan

"What are you doing here?" Antonia saw him at the fire "Where is Gabriel"

"Not sure, do you need a ride home?"

"No, I swear to you Nathan Petrelli I will find out what the hell is going on, you really need to be destroyed"

"Annie"

"What did you call me?"

"I don't know, I just needed to call you that, sorry" he walked away

She got into her mothers car "That's not him"

"What?"

"That was not Gabriel, where is he?"

"The last time I saw him he was passed out in a hotel"

"With whom?"

"Angela and Matt Parkman"

"This is getting ridiculous"

"I am so sorry"

"I know, I'm still angry but helping me like this won't be forgotten mom"

A couple of weeks went by and there was still no sign of him, she knew in her heart he was not dead, Angela wasn't talking and luckily she got a hold of Matt. She met him at a coffee shop and he looked horrible. Tired, pale and worried

"I can't do this anymore Antonia"

"You were in the hotel room, what happened"

"Sylar killed Nathan, he wanted to talk to the President, live Nathan's life. He wasn't going to stop. Peter found a way to subdue him. Angela called your mother, she has my power too and figured if I couldn't do it, she would"

"Do what Matt?" Antonia demanded

"Making Sylar believe he was Nathan, getting rid of his memories"

"So my husband won't remember me? He doesn't exist"

"It might not last forever"

"It better not, or there will be hell to pay"

Antonia raced off to find Nathan, his secretary told him he went home sick and she knocked on his door.

"Antonia!" he smiled at her

"Nathan, how are you?"

"Good, but feeling kind of odd"

"How so?"

"I cut myself shaving earlier and it healed, I can't fly..."

"I see"

Antonia grabbed Nathans hand and smiled at him "Do you know you can learn a lot about someone from their belongings? You can see their personalities, their likes, quirks, everything. This ring, Gabriel Gray bought this for me. It reminded him of when we were in Soho on our second date and he bought me a pair of earrings. They were painted red and 5 dollars, he took me to Central park to a secluded area and kissed me in the rain and I broke his heart"

Nathan looked down "I see, what else?"

"Come home with me, I have things I need to show you"

They arrived at her apartment a while later and she brought him to Gabriel's closet

"Are you happy with Gabriel?"

"Yea, I am. We're blissfully happy"

"Annie..." he shape shifted back to Gabe and smiled at her "sweetie, I remember everything, I didn't lose my memory, I let them think I did. I saw what you did back there"

She hugged him close "I'm so glad your back. Just stop this, you don't have to go along"

"I want to, Nathan didn't deserve this life, I can make it better. I can influence people, with power it will be amazing. Couldn't you learn to love Nathan?"

"No, if I wanted Nathan I could have had Nathan a long time ago. I want you"

"I'm a nobody. I killed my mother, I have done so many horrible things. I thought this ability, this shape shifting would be a curse but now, now it's a blessing, a way out"

He shifted back to being Nathan and sat down with her "you can learn to love me, you'll be my first lady. It won't be weird, I've known you for a while, I was there at your time of grief and was willing to raise your son and love you forever" he kissed her on the cheek

"You cannot be serious, Gabe listen to yourself. I don't want all of this"

"I do, be happy for me"

"I can't talk to you about this now, I need to go" Antonia was fuming and started to walk out. Nathan grabbed her arm.

"Annie, hear me out"

He kissed her and while it was the way she liked it, she missed his body against hers and the way he looked at her. She felt like she was with a stranger

"If you need to play dirty, I'm game" Antonia sighed, she hated doing this, going to her baser instincts. She never thought he would have his memory back so soon and WANT to be Nathan... "It is a shame you cannot be Gabriel for a bit, I'm wearing a pearl thong"

"A what?"

"It's amazing, just a strand of pearls that has been SO pleasant all day....and I have this tension I just need released. I wanted to try to make a baby, when Matt told me what happened, I thought sex was a good way to snap you out of it. However, I cannot cheat on my husband NATHAN" she said sarcastically

He shifted back to Gabriel and started unbuttoning her jeans to feel her. The thong was black lace and he sighed "I can't let anyone else have you"

She kissed him "I thought you wanted to be Nathan, she peeled his shirt off

"I'm not going to f**k my wife as him, trust me" he moaned "Do you really want another baby"

"Eventually" she pressed herself against him tore away his pants "I want you so bad right now, do you have any clue what I have been going through"

She was ready and his hands and tongue felt incredible "If you're Nathan, we can't do this everyagain" he had her pressed against the wall and eventually made their way to the couch

"Annie, oh god..." he bit his lip and she teased him and nibbled on his ear, her lips trailed down his chest and he shifted on top of her to to take her in his mouth.

"Gabe, stay this way please" he started slowly bringing himself inside her

"Shhhh, we'll talk about it" and he silenced her with a kiss.

"So what are your plans now that you're Nathan...that sounds so weird to say" Antonia asked Gabriel quietly and stroked his hair

"I'm not sure, I'm going to observe for a bit"

"You do know he has two sons, an ex wife...."

"Yes, I do" he kissed her gently

"I feel uncomfortable going along with this Gabe, I know you feel like your nothing, like your life could be different and that if you could be a Petrelli again, somehow it would make things better, but I don't love Nathan. I'm in love with Gabriel Gray, I married him, I had a son with hm..." she trailed off and sighed

"I love you too, more than I can really articulate. I can't find the words sometimes" he smiled at her

"If we have to do this, I'll go along with it but when you're here I need you to be you" she cringed again and felt dizzy

"You're sweating, sweetie are you okay?' Gabriel looked worried and felt her head "I'm getting you to the hospital"

"I'm fine, it's just the flu" she nuzzled against him

"You're sick , I have to take care of you. I'm not loosing you. Especially when we finally have our little one. I may not let you leave the house for the 9 months...I may have to lock you up somewhere, where no one can bother you and all you have to do is rest, there are too many things that could happen.." he kissed her

"Gabriel....do you remember that conversation we had, the difference between being sweet and protective versus creepy and possessive...that really thin line, you're now teetering on it" she smiled

"Let me take you to the hospital"

"This is going to be interesting....Nathan taking me to the hospital"

When she arrived she was admitted,she had a miscarriage and subsequent infection and the doctors missed it. The doctors were surprised when Nathan Petrelli started sobbing and saying it was his fault.

He curled up next to his wife and shifted back to Gabriel

"We can try again" Antonia smiled at him

"I put you through too much, if you can't go along with this I understand"

"No, I'm stuck you with you Gabe" she nuzzled up to him "we'll figure something out"

He held his wife close to him forgetting to switch back over to Nathan, at that moment she was more important than any plan he may have had.

Antonia's mother was alone in her home sipping tea. She was stuck keeping a huge secret from the world and was worried about hers and her daughters sanity.

She heard a knock on the door and saw a tall, kind looking man

"You're here to make me forget" she let him in

Kayla was spending time with Seth and his new girlfriend Elle. She was concerned that she had not heard from her sister in a while.

"Something isn't right" Elle was sipping her cherry slusho "it makes zero sense. Sylar cannot be dead and there is NO way stormy rebounded that fast with Nathan"

"Grief makes you do crazy things I guess" Seth looked sad

"I agree with Elle, something isn't right" Kayla tried again to call her sister and it went right to voice mail

"Elle, Sylar was burned pretty bad, that could kill anyone"

"Seth, he's a regen and TRUST me fire would have no effect. I blasted the SOB with thousands of volts of electricity and he lived" Elle scoffed

"The Petrellis, aside from Peter are pretty shady if you ask me" Kayla sighed "She is STILL not answering, what the hell is going on!"

Elle got up "I think it's time I go, I have an idea"

Antonia was home alone resting. It took everything in Sylar's power to leave her. He made her promise not to get out of bed, even if the phone was ringing, someone was knocking on the door and there were fire trucks surrounding the building. He put Noah in his bassinet next to her bed so that she could hold him if need be.

"I'll be back soon, I'm going to lock the door, I love you" he kissed her gently on the lips and sat down next to her holding her hand

"Gabriel, it's fine, go! I'll be fine, back to normal soon"

"Okay, just stay put'

He left and locked the door behind him. Antonia stretched out and grabbed her phone. She wanted to call her sister and have her come over and tell he what happened. Antonia left Kayla a message to come over as soon as she could.

She was starting to drift off to sleep when she heard the door open. Antonia called out "hey, you're home early"

She heard a female voice call to her "do you need anything?"

"Kayla!"

"Would you stop yelling"

She saw Elle walk into her bedroom and sit on her bed

"How did you get in Elle?"

"I picked the lock, so where's Nathan?"

"He's out" she pulled her covers up near her chin

"Right, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes..." Antonia trailed off sounding suspicious

"Is this Noah?"

"Yes"

"He looks like _him_ "

"Now he does, but once he gets older who knows?"

"What did you see in him? You really think he wouldn't have killed you?"

"Elle, I don't think about that any longer, I don't have to, he's gone"

"He would have"

"I had a dream about it once, I never told him but I had one about him killing me, doing the slice..." Antonia trailed off

"Yet you stayed with him"

"Elle, why are we talking about this?"

"You couldn't have used your compassion for someone else!"

"I cannot explain it, but he's gone and it's over"

"You're lying stormy, you know he is not gone and you know something is up! You don't just rebound with someone you hardly know"

"It is complicated"

"You clearly didn't love him Antonia, you wouldn't have moved on so fast. I loved him, in my way"

"Elle, I know, I know you did"

"You know nothing"

"Elle, I really need to rest. Maybe we can talk later"

"We should talk now, I know Sylar is alive and I know there is something going on and I'm going to get it out of you somehow"

"Try Elle, please" Antonia smiled at her."Good luck with it"

"Does your family know you're sick?"

"No, I'll tell them eventually but right now..."

Kayla was relieved to get a message from her sister and decided to pay Peter a visit, she figured he was the one Petrelli she could trust.

Antonia's mother only remembered up until fighting with her daughter and was playing with the idea of calling her.

Peter was at work, filling out paper work and was pleasantly surprised to see Kayla. He smiled warmly at her, she was a sweet girl and he enjoyed spending time with her when he could

"Kayla" he gave her a hug "How are you? How's your sister...I haven't gone to see her, I know I didn't like Sylar but, she doesn't deserve this, she's wonderful and I've been a terrible, terrible friend"

"I'm going to see her now if you want to come with me but that's not why I'm here, something weird is going on"

"With who?"

"My family, your family, we need to talk"

Sylar was heading back home after meetings and was anxious to see how Antonia was. He noticed a familiar car parked down the street from their apartment and stayed Nathan until he got into the building. He noticed the door was unlocked and when he walked into Antonia's room he saw Elle.

"Who are you?" he asked the blond

"Nathan! You know me..."

"I clearly don't"

"Elle Bishop"

"What are you doing here?"

"Talking to Antonia, nothing much"

"Are you a friend?"

"You could say that"

"I am in the room, I can hear you" Antonia piped in and got up to feed Noah

"Maybe you should sit" Nathan said

"No, I have to feed MY son and then I'm going to make a sandwich"

"Trouble in paradise!" Elle smiled "Do you like being the rebound Nathan"

"We're friends, I'm taking care of her"

"Do you know, you will probably never measure up to the man she was with before. Or maybe you'll be better, stronger, not so many mommy issues" Elle stared at him

"I understand his mother died, that's very sad"

"He murdered her, he murdered hundreds of people and tried to kill me. Someone he loves, but you wouldn't do anything bad"

"No, of course not. I can give her stability, everything she needs" Sylar was trying to quell his annoyance and smiled.

"I'm going to go and have a sandwich with my friend Antonia"

"Elle, maybe it would be better to leave, she needs rest"

"I'm going to take her out somewhere actually Nathan, if you don't mind"

"Why would I mind?"

Elle walked into the kitchen and Antonia had gotten dressed and put some makeup on.

"Antonia do you want to go get some lunch" Elle asked

"Sure..." she looked at Elle suspiciously

Elle revved up some electricity and looked at Antonia "sorry..." she looked pained and blasted her hard to the ground and Elle was thrown against the wall

"I knew it!" Elle yelled "Nathan can't do that, you killed him I knew it"

He shifted back to Sylar and and held Elle against the wall "You have no idea what you're messing with. I could get rid of you with a thought"

Peter and Kayla tried to get a hold of their mothers immediately. Kayla explained her fears to him and Peter was getting tired of his mothers manipulations, if his brother was dead he needed to know.

"Go ahead Sylar, do it. Please" Elle spit out

"This has to end, you're going to ruin everything"

"Gabe, let Elle go. There's no need for this" Antonia was growing concerned

"Kill me, show her what a vile monster you are. You know you want to"

"Elle, why are you doing this?" Antonia asked "Just let her go and we can work this out"

"You blame her for losing your child, you're going to kill her just like you tried to kill me. You don't love her, she only stays with you because she's scared of you"

"Shut Up ELLE!" Sylar screamed at her

"SHE gets to live, Claire got to live but not me, now I will make your life a living hell Sylar"

"You will NOT ruin this for me, this has to end" Sylar hissed and his nose was right against Elle's "to think I actually cared about you for a moment, that was so stupid of me"

"What are you going to do when your cover is blown?" Elle smirked

"That's not going to happen Elle" he smiled at her

Peter and Kayla ended up at her mothers home on Long Island and discovered the memory loss.

"Mom, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Your sister is so angry with me Kayla, Angela and I made her think Gabriel was dead. She said she would never speak to me again. Now you're saying weeks have passed?"

"Yes, mom where is Angela now?"

"I haven't the slightest clue Kayla" her mother was sipping some tea and looked pale

"It's the Haitian" Peter looked stern

"That what?" Kayla was confused

"He used to work for the company; he can stop your powers and make you forget. We're going to see my mother now" Peter got Kayla's coat and they headed out.

"Gabe, stop. Seriously, just let me talk to Elle"

"This has to end Annie, she's going to ruin everything" Sylar still had Elle pinned to the wall

"I can make you stop Gabriel" Antonia didn't want to see anyone hurt and she knew Elle would have no qualms about hurting him

Sylar sighed "I hate to do this" and he tkd the door open, threw Antonia out of the room and locked it.

"Ok, where were we Elle?"

"That was sweet of you!" Elle laughed and glared at Sylar

"What do you want?"

"I want what I have always wanted Sylar"

Noah started to wail at that second and he had to go tend to him. He cradled his son in his arms "shhh, it's okay, daddy's here. Don't be scared. He's little, he doesn't know what's going on" he kissed Noah on the forehead

"This is a different side of you Sylar"

"Do you know what's pathetic Elle"

"Oh a lot of things are pathetic"

"When I met you, I wanted this with you. That night we had dinner at my house, when you brought Trevor over I was going kiss you finally, that's all I thought of was kissing you. Then we went to find Claire Bennett and I was with her father, I thought if someone like that could have a family, why couldn't I have one with you? You hurt me too Elle, several times, you're alive, be grateful. You weren't a rebound, I actually let myself love you"

"I loved you too"

"I want you gone so bad right now, I want to murder you"

"I know"

"What do you want from me?"

"Let me down and I'll tell you"

He paused for a moment and she fell to the floor

"I want what you want Sylar, I want power, I want pay back for being hunted and treated like an experiment. I can help you"

"Why?"

"I've grown a certain affinity for stormy and her brother, despite her horrible taste in men"

"So you'll help, you'll keep this secret and I won't make your life miserable Elle and you know I will"

"I know"

He saw she wasn't lying but wanted to keep her at arms length. He ran out into the hall to see if Antonia was okay and she was slumped on the floor with her eyes fluttering

"Sweetie" Gabriel knelt down next to Antonia and she opened her eyes and glared at him, knocking him down with a burst of thunder

"If you EVER telekentically throw me out of MY apartment with our son in there again you will wish you could die"

He hugged her "my feisty one, I love you. Everything's okay" he kissed her on the lips

"Nathan doesn't have telekinesis, remember this? You didn't...."

"No, no Elle's fine, we have some work to do and a lot to talk about" He cupped her chin in his hands and kiss her again before going back into the apartment

They started to walk back in her apartment and Antonia smiled at Gabe

"Do you think you could love me if I didn't have powers?"

He stared at her "Why would you ask me that?"

"If I ended up being normal, would you feel this way about me? Most normal people wouldn't put up with all of this"

"I loved you before I knew I had powers"

"You left for someone who had them"

"I didn't leave you, you left me. I don't understand how I can kill for you, I would die for you a million times, I MARRIED you and if you don't get that I love you I don't know what else to do"

"Nothing, it's not important Gabe" he grabbed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head

"You're getting worried Annie, you're afraid of me wanting to stay Nathan, and losing me"

"I don't love Nathan, I don't even like Nathan"

"You don't have to, I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. You don't have to kiss him, sleep with him, even hug him"

"In public I need to do those things"

"I won't be having sex in public Annie, that's rude"

"I want you"

"I know"

"You're better than Nathan, trust me according to Traci, he's not very good at much"

He whispered in her ear "you like me, you like the way I feel..."

"I do"

"I am going to make you SO happy, just help me with this and I swear anything you want, name it, it's yours" he stared into her eyes and kissed her again. They heard Elle yell from the apartment

"Noah clearly needs to be changed and we have work to do, get inside!"

Gabriel took a second longer to kiss his wife again and walk inside.

Elle was searching in their fridge for some snacks and drinks and smiled at Antonia "Do you have any chocolate?"

"I do, so what's going on. What's the plan?" Antonia sat down, her stomach growling and her head hurting a bit from being slammed into a wall

"Well stormy, I'm not going to tell anyone that Sylar is alive, once we get into a position of power we're taking this whole organization down. No more lies, no more deceit. I want a new life"

"I like your plan Elle" Antonia smiled and Gabriel, while he understood things found women to be horribly confusing. He didn't understand how the two of them could get along so well.

"So what's our first move?" Antonia smiled as Elle brought out some left over chocolate cake and wraps from the night before, licking the icing from her fingers she dug into the cake and handed Antonia the sandwich.

"I guess I won't eat anything..." Gabriel sighed

"You have hunger Sylar?" Elle smiled brightly

"Elle, I just want some of the cake"

"I thought you liked pie"

"I can like both, clearly. I didn't know I had to choose between both"

"You will have to turn back into Nathan soon, before anyone comes by and sees what is going on" Elle quipped "We DO have a problem. Kayla seems to be getting suspicious, I believe she's on her way with Peter to see his mother"

"That's an issue" Sylar shifted back to Nathan "I should go see ma"

Peter and Kayla arrived at Angela's home a short while later and banged on the door

"Peter! What a pleasant surprise"

"Mom, this is Kayla Ceppaglia"

"Oh I know her, you've grown up so much since the last time I saw you dear" Angela stroked Kayla's cheek.

"You know my family well Mrs. Petrelli"

"I do, I've known your mother since your sister Antonia was born"

"Mom, we have a problem" Peter was firm with her and was prepared to use his newly acquired ability he got from Kayla's mother

"What is it dear"

"Sylar"

"Oh first Claire back then now you, Sylar is dead. Gone"

"My sister doesn't believe that"

"Your sister is grieving Kayla, she has a much bigger heart then most"

"If he was so bad, why did he marry her"

"Control, power... I don't know but he's dead"

"Nathan has been different lately"

"He's busy, he has a lot on his plate"

"Mom" Peter grabbed her and started reading her mind. He gasped "Nathan!"

"Peter, are you okay?" Kayla put her arm around his waist and held him "Peter..."

"He's dead, Nathan is dead! MY BROTHER. What did you do?'


	14. Chapter 14

Antonia was quietly chatting with Elle "We need action, I've been talking in circles with Traci and now the game has changed"

"We need this to be over wish stormy, I want to be happy" Elle smiled and polished off her cake "this is REALLY good"

"Elle, did you say my sister was getting suspicious?"

"Yes"

"Sylar is going to see Angela, and Peter might be there....oh shit"

"What!?"

"I cannot have my sister in the middle of this"

"What are you going to tell her without blowing this for him, for us" Elle was concerned, if she made a false move there would be dire consequences

"I'll call her" Antonia nervously dialed her sisters cell and she answered

"Tonia, how are you?"

"Fine, so how about some girl talk today, why don't you come over, we can do manicures"

Elle rolled her eyes "yea, that's casual"

"You hate manicures Tonia, you never get them"

"I can do yours and we can get ice cream"

"Are you okay Tonia?"

"Where are you?"

"With Peter, something's happening"

"Where.... are you..." Antonia demanded

"Angela Petrelli's, we found out Nathan is dead"

"Get out of there now"

"Nathan's here now"

"KAYLA GET OUT OF THE f**k HOUSE NOW"

"I have to go, don't worry"

"Do you think he's going to hurt your sister?' Elle looked shocked "why would he hurt her?"

"Not intentionally, but I don't want her in the middle. We have to go there now"

"We should stay here"

"We have strong defensive powers, you can stop ANYONE Elle, quickly"

"I can, it's true but we should let him handle it"

"I'll go alone"

Elle revved up her sparks "sit down"

Angela went to the door to great her son

"Nathan, how are you dear, your brother's here"

"Hi ma" he kissed her on the cheek "Pete! How are ya? Who is this pretty girl?"

"What did you do to my brother you sick bastard?" Peter lunged at Nathan but Angela stopped

"Peter, it's me, what's wrong" he laughed "I taught you to ride a bike, drive, I even covered for you when you stayed out late with Tami Gordon when you were 13, remember"

"He can figure those things out"

"Who is he?"

"Sylar"

"Pete, Sylar's dead, I mean you watched his body burn. Ma, really. I don't have time for this. Come here Pete, give me a hug"

"I can take whatever ability I want from you"

"I can only fly, so have fun. Fly to Spain for some dinner, I don't know what to tell you"

"I read mom's mind, I saw her memories, her cover up" he started reading his brothers mind and while Sylar tried to block him Peter pulled out Antonia's name

"You don't want anyone to get hurt do you, especially not your wife"

"Ex wife, Heidi"

"Antonia"

"She's a friend Pete"

"She confided in you, I've known her longer. Why didn't she come to me"

Nathan scoffed "Pete, stop this jealousy thing, it's not cute"

"Her sister's in the line of fire"

"I suggest her sister leaves now"

Kayla looked at Peter and to Angela "I'm not leaving"

"Kayla, this is family business, I would leave if I were you. You don't want to get hurt"

"Why would she get hurt Sylar" Peter was inches away from him 'What did you do to my brother?"

He smiled "I am your brother"

Nathan grabbed Peter and knocked him out, shifted into Peter and started to strangle Angela "We're going to end this right now"

Kayla watched in horror as Angela slumped to the ground and stopped breathing. He shifted back to Nathan.

"This is terrible, Peter killed his own mother" he shook his head and stood over Peter's body. Kayla walked tentatively over to him

"Now what are we going to do about you Kayla?" Nathan asked

"We're friends Sylar, I'll keep your secret just let me out"

"I can't do that, I can't chance this with you or Peter"

"I'm your family"

"No, you're Gabriel's family, I'm Nathan. Gabriel Gray's dead. Peter just killed his mother and you got caught in the middle, it's a shame"

"You wouldn't"

He smiled at started cutting into her skull

Antonia awoke screaming

"We have to go Elle, now"

"Where did you go just then?" Elle was trying to talk to Antonia for a short while

"Day dreams, it happens sometimes with precognitive dreaming. We have to to get to Angela's"

Kayla stood in front of Nathan

"You don't have to do anything, we're family. I can keep your secret" she was shaking because she didn't know what her brother in law was capable of anymore.

Peter started to stir on the ground and was coming to

"You have to make a decision Kayla, there's no going back. What you saw never happened, Peter killed Angela and we have to cover it up"

"Don't you have a power or something to convince him that he did it? I mean, wouldn't it be better then killing?" Kayla asked, still nervous

"I do, I don't like using it, but I think it will come in handy"

Kayla looked suspicious "I thought you loved your abilities"

"I do, they make me what I am, special, powerful...I'm a nobody without them BUT this one I only used on your sister, to make her happy. It was an ability of someone very bad, someone who hurt her"

"What is it?"

"I can warp reality, I can use it on you, or I can trust you with this secret. Just know if you tell anyone, I will be forced to do something drastic" he glared at Kayla, while he loved Antonia he was not about to let anyone get in the way of his plans.

"I can keep the secret"

"Good, Peter's waking up"

He used his power to convince Peter that he was in fact Nathan and that there was an accident, Angela was dead and it was Peter who did it, but Nathan being his loving brother and in a position of power would help him cover it up. Peter wept and they heard footsteps and saw Elle and Antonia walk in. Kayla ran to her sister and they saw Angela dead on the floor and Peter holding her

"I don't know what happened Tonia, but my mom is dead....mom..." he was sobbing

"Peter, I'm so sorry" Elle glared at Sylar and Antonia went over to comfort Peter "We need to call the ambulance, make arrangements for her"

"Why did I kill her?"

"How.... no, Peter you didn't kill your mom sweetie, it was an accident" Antonia stroked his hair. "Kayla, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Fine, it was all a blur, I don't remember anything. I have to go" Kayla started to run out of the house. Nathan covered up the death and he took Peter home. Elle was extremely angry at this turn of events and quietly asked Antonia on the way home early the next morning "Do you really think Peter killed his mother?"

"No, I don't. He put my sister in the middle of this and I am sure he killed Angela" Antonia was becoming more and more livid

"We still need to go along with this." Elle said matter of factly

"I'm going to drop you off at home, I'll call you later. I need to speak to Sylar alone"

"That's the first time I've heard you refer to him as that"

"When I'm pissed off, I do"

"Is Kayla okay?"

"She won't talk to me, she's with our mom now. I'm going to go see her later"

When Antonia got back to their apartment Gabriel was himself again, his back was turned near the sink and Antonia blasted him with thunder

"Explain why you put my sister in danger? What did you do to her"

"Annie"

"Don't Annie me!" she grabbed his arms before he could fight back and subdued him with a self defense move she learned then kicking him to the ground with her heels "You killed Angela and you could have killed Kayla"

She revved up her power a bit and he threw her against the wall and tried to blast her with electricity, she ducked and ended up knocking dizzying him with lightening

"OW! Stop it, I wouldn't have killed your sister"! He moaned and felt himself heeling but she was a lot tougher than people gave her credit for. He looked at her sadly "Do you really think I would have killed her?"

"Don't give me that look"

His eyes hardened "Do you think I would have killed Kayla?"

"No"

He smiled, when he realized his lie detector ability didn't go off, she was telling the truth.

"What happened in the Petrelli home? What is going on, you have to be honest"

"First, you need to apologize for beating me up Mrs. Gray, that wasn't pleasant..." he smiled at her "I like your feistiness but next time you try to kick me with your stilettos you better be wearing nipple clamps"

"You think you're cute"

"I know I'm cute babe" He kissed her gently on the lips and his hands drifted up her shirt

"Do you think this is the best time?"

"Yes. You came in here, violent and insane Annie.... and now you want to talk like cordial adults but I want you naked on the couch and I get what I want" his voice sounded cold and he stared at her "If you keep this up I'll shift into Nathan"

"Don't do that"

"Then don't try to fight me like that again"

"My sister, she's in trouble now. What does she know? What did you do" Antonia was again firm with her husband. She may love him dearly but knew all too well what he was capable of. "I was scared for her, I'm sorry I hurt you"

His lips grazed down her neck and shirt and he got on his knees to start unbuttoning her jeans

"You'll make it up to me" he smirked at her

"I always do" Antonia ran her fingers through his dark hair and pushed him closer to her "I love you"

"I love you too Annie, now no more talking for now"

He carried her over to the couch as promised and proceeded to please her in every way she could imagine and she returned the favor. He walked her through the apartment into the bathroom and Antonia had to laugh "Clearly you are some sort of masochist because my beating you up is a turn on"

He whispered something in her ear that made her blush and kissed him deeply on the lips, biting his tongue a bit "If I do that, then you tell me what happened"

Gabriel sighed and tangled his hands in her hair "deal" and brought her in for another kiss.

"I think it will be fun" he smiled at her and kissed her "so you have a choice, if you want we can cuddle and be sweet or you can have some fun with Sylar"

Antonia raised an eyebrow at him "I NEVER get to have fun with Sylar"

"You do sometimes, but I think you'll enjoy it"

He kissed her and grabbed her hand to lead her back into their bedroom

"Lay down" he said in his deep authoritative voice

He pulled out of her drawer handcuffs, black silk scarfs and a small contraption that she vaguely remembers getting at a friends bachorlette party. He wrapped the scarf around her eyes and tied her up so she couldn't move.

"I didn't like when you were talking to Peter, you have to remember who you belong to" he whispered softly as his hands started to trail down her body

"I didn't like when you slept with Elle, but you don't hear me complaining"

"WHO do you belong to, I'm not talking about me"

"I don't belong to anyone silly"

"Shhh... you're being bad"

"I AM bad"

"We're role playing, you're being a bad submissive"

"Bad, or naughty" Antonia smirked and he tightened the scarfs and she felt tension and release within her and she started to squirm and then moan

"What is that?" Antonia was gasping for breathe

"Are you mine, or do you want to be on your own?"

"I want to be yours"

"What do you want me to do to you?"

She gasped out a few things

"I know what I want to do to you" he was kissing her and she felt him get on his knees n the bed "you have to work for it"

"I love the way you feel, I love you"

"Shhhh"

"Kiss me"

"Not yet"

"I need you Gabriel"

"It's Sylar, now you're in trouble" He lifted up her hips and smacked her

When he finished pleasing himself he left the room and sat on the couch using his TK and the little contraption to keep her happy. After about an hour of listening to his wife in the other room he decided it was time

He pulled the blind fold off of her and Antonia's eyes lit up

"Hey you" she watched him as he untied her legs and she pushed her legs together. He loved the look on his face, the way his eyes moved down her body "When you uncuff my hands I am going to use what little energy I have to jump on you"

"Open your legs"

"Nope!"

He climbed over her, shocking her gently until she started squirming and kissed her again, one had had an opening he started speeding up as he uncuffed her and she grabbed the back of his hair, pulling it hard, one of her hands made her way down his back digging her nails in. They ended up panting on the floor and she snuggled up to him

"I love being married" Antonia nuzzled her face into the soft skin of his neck

"Who else would do that for you babe" Gabriel stroked her hair gently and kissed her nose

"No one"

"I love you"

"Oh, I love you too.... I am so tired, I cannot move" she stared at the ceiling "I think you should be submissive next time"

"Not going to happen. I have to do this, I have to remind you of how much I love you"

"No you don't, I know"

"You'll leave me, don't leave me Annie"

"I'm not going to, I mean one day I will grow old and leave"

"No.. we'll work on that"

Antonia smiled sadly, she dropped the subject, he was determined that he would figure out a way for her to become immortal.

"What should we do now?"

Gabriel rolled onto his side "why don't we get cleaned up, have some dinner and watch a movie or TIVO"

"Tivo... what do you tivo Gabe?"

"The Tudors, Dexter and The Soup"

"We just got done with a couple hours of Gray's Anatomy" Antonia chuckled "get it...." Gabriel stared at her blankly and Antonia sighed "just laugh, it's polite, it is a show about doctor's, your last name is Gray..."

"YES!" and he chuckled politely

"What are we going to tell Noah and any of other kids about how they were conceived... Daddy tied mommy up all day"

"No, the stork brought them" he smiled warmly.

When they eventually made their way to the couch with some wine and supper they were beat. They turned the phone off and Antonia realized she had not spoken with her sister yet. Gabriel mentioned they should wait until tomorrow

"You did say you would tell me what happened" Antonia asked gently

"We will, don't worry now, it's late. We have all day tomorrow before Elle comes by" they fell asleep in each others arms.

The next morning the sun was streaming into Antonia's window. She remembered she had fallen asleep on the couch but was tucked into her bed alone. She heard clattering and stretched out, put her robe on and noticed it was after 9am. She usually was awoken a lot earlier due to Noah's needs for food, diaper change or affection. She smiled, put her robe on and went out to the living room and she spied Gabriel holding Noah, having a quiet conversation. Or course it was one sided since Noah didn't have the capacity to talk yet but he was murmuring to him and fixing breakfast, smiling in his pajama pants and noting else, his hair falling into his face... she watched them for a bit and her heart broke for a second. She was seeing such a side to him that no one else sees, so many people have hurt him and she never wanted to be one of them.

Gabriel looked up and saw Antonia standing, he cameo over to her and smiled, kissing her on the lips "Good morning sweetie, did you sleep well?"

"I did" she kissed him back

"Noah wanted to make you breakfast"

"Noah did" she kissed her son on the head "thank you Noah"

"Why did you name him Noah?"

"My dad's name was Noah, his middle name is your last name... if we have a little girl one day maybe we can name her Gabrielle or after your mom?"

He looked down for a second "Maybe, she would have loved this little guy. I keep thinking I must have done something right, to have a son, a family, but then I wonder if this is punishment?"

"How so?' Antonia looked incredulous

"No matter how much I love you, no matter how I treat Noah and keep him safe from harm I'm going to lose you. You're going to die, I'm going to be alive and have to deal with losing you and EVEN if I end up caring about someone hundreds of years from now as much as I care about you,I'm going to lose them"

Antonia put her arm around him "Don't think of that now"

"He is the most important thing"

"He is" Antonia kissed her husband again and rested her head against his shoulder "what did Noah make?"

"Eggs, muffins, fruit salad, coffee and yogurt"

"That's amazing" Antonia sighed and grabbed a muffin Sylar put his son in his high chair and wrapped his arms around Antonia kissing her again

"Whatever happens, he comes first. I will never be away from my child, I will fight for him no matter what, I won't let him feel alone like I did. My father sold me, for money. How much? What was I worth? Really" Sylar said very matter of factly and without a bit of self pity.

"I know, I know" she stroked his face

"I do love you" he said softly "as much as I am capable of, I can't let myself go as much as you want me to, I can't surrender myself as much in emotion, sex...it's hard"

"Should we go to counseling?" Antonia asked with a smirk

Sylar rolled his eyes "no" he said flatly

Antonia smiled "we're fine, you don't have to try so hard"

"You probably want to know what happened at the Petrelli's? Sylar said very firmly

"I do, I want to know what's going on, how Kayla is involved"

"I'll tell you but I need you to promise me something" He grabbed her wrists and stared directly into her eyes.

"Okay" Antonia was hesitant

"Let me talk, don't get mad, don't interrupt, let me tell you exactly what is going on and then comment" he said very firmly

"Fine, I promise"

"I killed Angela, after what she did, she didn't deserve to live. I finally had somewhere I belonged, I had a brother, answers, I fit in. She took so much from me THEN she tried to erase my memories. She almost took me away from you, made you think I was gone. Peter was there, he was discovering the truth, I wasn't his brother.... I had to do something. I made him believe he killed his mother. I didn't do anything to Kayla, she knows what really happened. We can get the Haitian or whoever to erase her memory if you want"

Antonia was thoughtful "Peter will have to live with that pain, he didn't do anything to you"

"His brother will be there, I know what he's going through"

"YOU'RE not his brother, Nathan is and Nathan doesn't know what it is like..."

"I can help him, I can get Peter through this as Nathan"

"How did you convince my sister to go along with this?"

"I told her there would be a lot of trouble, which there will be if she says anything"

"You wouldn't do anything to her!" Antonia demanded from her husband

"No, I wouldn't, but she has to keep her mouth shut"

"They are both going to have to live with this forever"

"I can be there for Peter" Sylar said firmly again "I WILL be there for him as Nathan"

"Why do you hate Peter so much?"

"WHY do you defend him so much Antonia?" Sylar never used her full name so she knew she was pushing it too much

"I'm not defending him, but I don't know what he did to you, except for sedate you but he didn't know any of this" Antonia waived her hand indifferently

"I'm not sure you would understand" he softened a bit and put his hand on her knee

"I have to talk to my sister, I have to make sure she won't say anything" Antonia rubbed her husbands shoulder and kissed him on the cheek "I'll be back by the time Elle gets here... speaking of dislike..." Antonia shook her head a bit

"You don't dislike Elle" Sylar looked at Antonia with a glance

"You talk about trust and being devoted, you cheated on me with her and while I can forgive both of you, I don't have to adore her"

Sylar felt his lie detector go off and he laughed

"Sweetie, you can admit that you like her. It's okay" Sylar shook his head a little "I have tried to make it up to you, I need you to just forgive it and forget, it meant NOTHING" he felt his detector go off and cursed it.

"Gabriel, when you stop holding back from me and just let yourself go... give me the same devotion you expect from me, I will forget"

"You can like Elle and not trust her, it's fine but you HAVE to realize that you are the only person I love so stop it"

"I have to keep my enemies close"

"OR you like her company" Sylar kissed his Antonia on the forehead

"You slept with her"

"I'm sorry, you know how sorry I am, I love you"

"You get worried over a friendship with someone that I NEVER had any romantic feelings for but you are allowed to sleep with whomever you want? I don't mean to keep bringing it up, but if you keep worrying about a friendship I have that is ONLY a friendship I don't know what else to do, I don't know what to tell you" Antonia was staring dead in his eyes

"I would kill any man who touched you"

"Exactly, I have to go and see my sister" she squirmed out of his grip a bit but he grabbed her back and kissed her again, grabbing the back of her hair he pulled her close and rubbed her back. Smiling one of his shit eating grins he quipped "have fun!"

Antonia could only sigh and grab her coat to tend to her sister.

Kayla was sitting quietly in her room. She didn't want to talk to anyone, for fear that she would slip up, say something she shouldn't. She was alone and heard someone come up the stairs. At first she thought it was him, but she heard heels so assumed it was a female then she heard her sisters voice yell for her. Antonia had two cups of coffee for both her and Kayla and was prepared to have a long talk.

"Hey" Antonia said softly and sat on Kayla's bed "I NEVER meant..."

Kayla interrupted her sister "it's not your fault, I don't want to hear it Tonia"

"Fine, then I won't apologize but I need to know what happened"

"I was with Peter, we were going to talk to Angela, mom... she had her memory erased, she knew about what happened with Syl... Gabriel, how his memory was erased"

"Okay, and Elle knew, she was with you when you discovered this and you went to Peter?" Antonia was interested

"Yes, I was with her and Seth"

"Elle told Gabe"

"Why the hell is he pretending to be Nathan, he KILLED Angela!"

"Nathan is dead"

"I know that much Tonia" she shook her head

"Angela wasn't the nicest woman"

"So she deserved to die!"

"No, you shouldn't have seen any of that"

"Now I have to spend my life looking over my shoulder Tonia, I don't understand how you are with him" Kayla looked sad

"We can make you forget, he is not going to go after you. We will be safe, I can promise you this Kayla. Our plan is to make sure that people will abilities are NEVER hunted again, we won't have to live in fear" Antonia was still hesitant, she hoped this would happen but often felt as though Gabriel had his own agenda

"I want to forget Tonia, what do we do?"

"Find someone called the Haitian"

"Does he have a name"

"I think it's Pierre"

"I see, let's go" Kayla walked out with her sister

Elle arrived at Antonia and Gabriel's apartment in the city. She had some ideas up her sleeves.

Shortly after Elle arrived she and Sylar headed out for some meetings. He has switched over to being Nathan and Elle was posing as his assistant. Elle had heard about HRG wanting to start a new company so they wanted to use this information for their advantage. The ride was strained and silent, Elle was at a loss at times on what to say.

"So this plan you have, does it involve getting rid of everyone with an ability or....?" Elle asked

"Not anymore, I want influence, everything in the palm of my hand, at my disposal. The plans have changed so many times that I keep having to adjust"

"You're not going to be able to settle down Sylar' Elle mentioned a bit wistfully.

"I am not getting into this with you"

"Peter went to the future, he saw you 4 years from now with a child"

"That seems about right"

"The boy was MY son, not hers"

"How do you know this Elle, just stop!"

"Fine, let's just stick to the plan, I won't try to build bridges"

"Thanks Elle"he sighed, as much as he cared about Elle, she was volatile and he needed to keep her close but he couldn't help but feel she had ulterior motives at times, especially when it came to him.

Kayla and Antonia found the Haitian. He was a tall, striking man Kayla whispered "I know one of his super powers.. wow..." she winked at Antonia

"I thought you didn't like guys?"

"I am willing to convert"

The Haitian spoke in a soft steady voice twinged with an accent.

"What can I do for you? I know your mother very well"

"I've been told you have a gift like us, and you can help" Kayla asked softly

"Yes Kayla, I know you have the ability to communicate with anyone, you're very smart. Antonia you have a very strong gift as well, two I believe"

"Yes, I understand you can help people. My sister Kayla, witnessed something, knowing this could possibly put her in danger, you can make her forget"

"It comes with risks. I want to make sure you are certain" The Haitian asked kindly

While busy in meetings Nathan and his assistant "Veronica" to the amusement of Sylar plotted and strategized. Kayla had her memory erased and instead of being in the Petrelli's mansion that day she recalled a happy memory of being with her sister in Boston for the day.

When Antonia returned home she still felt tremendous guilt for her sisters predicament. She never wanted her in the middle. She w as glad for time alone and had to pick Noah up from her moms in a bit. No matter what issues they had she with her, her mother doted on Noah like he was the first child born on earth.

Her mothers house was eerily quiet. Noah was in his bassinet and fine but the door was unlocked and there was no sound of movement, no radio. She called out to her mother and finally saw her on the kitchen floor, dead with a slit across her forehead. Antonia instantly threw up and fell to her knees, shaking she called 911.

Her brother and the police arrived shortly after. Seth held her close and having the presence of mind in tough situations told the police about the security cameras. He noticed the mark on his mothers head and recognized it as Sylar's, the same mark that Elle had on her forehead, now faded and pink, usually covered up with make up and bangs. However Sylar was dead, and he was Antonia's husband...

Antonia wasn't in the frame of mind to notice the mark on her mother. She was too devastated and she spoke to the police. Seth mentioned the security camera his mother had installed and they watched. Seth's knees buckled when he saw a man enter. He was all in black, tall and thin. The face was a bit blurred but he recognized the person and the hand movement, but it couldn't be. He tried to keep his sister from watching but Antonia was head strong and found a way in she whispered ever so slightly "Gabriel" the officer asked who she was talking about and she brushed them off. Seth made a copy of the tape secretly, using his ability to speak to the police AND sneak out to copy evidence and he brought his sister home, calling Kayla over to tell her the news eventually they left for a bit leaving Antonia alone.

Seth called Elle to see where she was, he met her at a restaurant to give her to news. Nathan was going to meet her later in a bit, he was parking the car and when he entered he felt the glare from Seth and a confused very perturbed Elle told Nathan what had happened

"I had a feeling Sylar was alive and I know he did this"

Nathan betrayed all emotion and kept calm.

"It's impossible, I should be there for your sister. I'm going to see her. Elle I will meet with you later, Seth, I am sorry for your loss"

Nathan walked out and Elle was left with Seth, she knew that Sylar was alive and she slid next to Seth holding him close

"I will help you get through this, we'll find the person who did it"

"It was Sylar!"

"No, no he's dead Seth... shh.." she hugged him

Sylar headed up, terrified of what Antonia might be thinking. His blood was boiling. Someone was setting him up, someone was trying to get him out of hiding and this was the way to do it. Whomever killed Antonia's mother did so with his son in the house, he got even angrier when he realized he may have been in danger. They were not going to get away with this. He tentatively walked into his apartment. He saw Antonia lying on the couch, she never called him, especially since according to Seth, they had him on video, he was surprised she didn't lock the doors, he was also surprised he wasn't greeted with a charge of lightening so harsh that no one could heal from it.

There was nothing. He knelt in front of her and she opened her eyes. The way she looked at him cut through him like a knife, it was the way his mom looked at him, but there was a sadness too, a sense of confusion, hurt and yes rage. He was worse than a monster, this was worse to her, she didn't know anyone else he had killed, this was her mother. He had killed Peter's mother and now she believes he killed hers.

"Annie..." he reached for her but she stiffened

'You, tell me that this isn't true, but if you do I know you're lying. I know you are! WHY!!??" she screamed at him and held back tears

"Annie, listen to me sweetie PLEASE, I am begging you"

"No, I don't want to listen to you anymore, I am tired of this, I should have known, I am idiot for LOVING you, I am so foolish, you are disgusting, not capable of love, you destroy everything . You need to rot, I want to know where your kill spot is so I can get rid of you" she looked hurt saying that

He brought her over to him telekentically and held her 'I moved it in between my little toe on my left foot. You can take your shot at me after you listen"

Antonia was sobbing now and she nodded "I don't have a choice"

"Is the video time stamped?"

"Yes" she looked exasperated, why would he be asking her this!

"I have been with Elle ALL day at meetings, she is posing as my assistant. I can do amazing things Annie, incredible things but I CANNOT be in 2 places at once" he caressed her face and she took some deep breathes.

"I don't want to believe you killed my mom"

"Then don't, because I would NEVER do that to you and when I find the son of a bitch who did it, they will pay horribly" He was doing something he has never done before, he was begging her, he was having his heart broken again and all he wanted was for her to look at him like she did this morning, to touch him like she did last night, make her smile, and feel special. "PLEASE believe me, please"

They sat down and Antonia closed her eyes while Sylar watched the video. Her mother was murdered at 12:57 pm, he was signing in at the Dept. of Homeland Security at that time.

"I don't want to do this anymore Annie, this is affecting you too much. I want to be here for you, I can find another way for influence. I don't care anymore, I want you" he pulled her close and comforted her "I can have the log faxed over here, I can show you where I was. You can take everything out on me babe, it's okay... hit me, burn me, stab me, put me through a wood chipper"

Antonia shook her head "that's not necessary. I don't want you to die, I don't think you're a monster"

"I know, it's okay. That person looks like me and that IS something I have used to get to peoples abilities but that was NOT me"

"Do you really want to give this plan up?

"More than anything"

Antonia was too weak to speak and she knew she had a busy week ahead of her with arrangements. She called for her sister to come back to her apartment to let her know the truth and again Gabriel stayed Gabriel, he vowed when this was all over he was getting his family as far away from this as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

It has been a couple of weeks after her mother died that Sylar finally found the person who did this. It was someone from hers and Angela's past that wanted revenge. He knew about Sylar and was able to cast an illusion to make him look a bit like him. This man took the opportunity to use what was going on with Angela's death and the chaos surrounding them to make a move. Antonia's mother had worked for the company years ago and the man blamed her for his daughters death. His daughter had elasticity and there was a horrible accident when she was being held. There was nothing that could be done to prevent it.

Sylar waited in the mans apartment until he returned home and made it quick, clean and as though it was an accident.

Antonia was at lunch with her sister, sharing stories about their mom and trying to make each other laugh

"I really think that mom had Gabe locked up and was lying about all of this to try to prevent these bad things from happening" Antonia sipped her water "Angela saw him do some horrible things...but with abilities, anything is possible"

Elle arrived to join the girls and she was going to go shopping with them, a very hollow gesture but she knew how they felt, her father was murdered and Peter had come by earlier that day to help the siblings cope.

Later that night Antonia returned home with Noah and Gabe was home already.

"It's done" he hugged his wife

"What is?"

"I found the person who did it, he's an illusionist, they had a past... she was killed for something that happened years ago, while she worked for the company, but he's gone now. He won't be able to hurt anyone ever again"

Antonia hugged him tightly "thank you, did you eat dinner yet sweetie?"

"I'm not hungry"

"Okay"

"Did you have a nice day Annie?' he kissed her on the cheek

"I did, I spent time with my sister, brother, Elle and Peter. It was nice, but I like being here with you"

"I know what you're going through in a way, my mom was murdered too"

Antonia nodded, of course not wanting to state the obvious and the glaring difference between the two situations, he was trying to help.

"I think I'm going to lay down Gabe, I took some sleeping pills, I'll see you in morning" she kissed him good night, changed into one of his t shirts and was out by the time her head hit the pillow. She had not slept well in a month, she didn't hear him pack his suitcase and leave.

It was late at night when he arrived at Elle's apartment. She awoke blurry eyed with her electricity blazing, if it was an intruder they wouldn't get a chance to lift a hand before she would blast them into oblivion.

"Don't you know how to knock!" Elle gasped when she saw him in her living room

"Sorry Elle, I need your help"

"Did you and stormy get into a fight, is that why you have your suitcase at 3am and why you're here instead of banging your hot wife or whatever you do at 3 am"

"I left, she doesn't know yet. I have caused far too much pain for her. Her mother died, she has been hurt, she lost our baby. I can't do that to her anymore"

"So you are running away?" Elle shook her head "You're being a coward and an idiot"

"Thanks for the support Elle" Sylar said dryly.

"What do you want to do, run away with me?"

"No, I need you to look after her and be a friend. I'll try in my way, but I'm going to disappear"

"So what is she going to think?"

"I left her a note and I left Noah a gift to remember me by. I killed the man who killed her mom, I can't stop and she is going to get hurt somehow, she doesn't need me around"

"I can get you out of town, but if she ever questions me, I don't know if I can lie"

"Sure you can Elle, you're good at it"

"Shut up and let's go" Elle shook her head "I'm not staying with you"

'I don't want you to Elle. I want to be alone, that's the point"

"Can I do anything to change your mind?"

"No" he said coldly

He ended up using his illusionist ability and shape shifting to create a new persona in North Carolina. He figured the less people he was around the less they would get hurt. They drove all night and Elle finally arrived late in the morning. Seth was waiting for her and they had breakfast. Unfortunately she was there when Kayla called Seth to let her know Antonia was crying in her room and not letting anyone in. Elle had to bite her tongue as she accompanied Seth to the apartment.

Antonia was sitting on her bed with Noah in just a t shirt. There was an envelope and pocket watch next to her. Elle blasted the door down and of course Antonia had a snide remark about buying a new one.

"There is a note, I didn't read it, but everything is gone. He took all of his stuff and left this watch for Noah, there was note saying to take care of him and he wrote something just for him when he gets older, he said his daddy would always love him...why did he leave?" Antonia was pale and her eyes were red.

Kayla gently picked up the envelope off of her sisters bed

"Do you want me to read this Tonia?" Kayla asked, and Seth went to get his sister a glass of water

"Yes, to yourself first. Please"

The note was simple and to the point

_Dear Annie, I know this is cliche and something I never thought I would do, but if I did this in person it would only be harder. I'm watching you sleep and I cannot bare thinking of you being in pain any longer. Since I came back into your life, that is all I have caused you. I brought so much turmoil into your life, into Noah's. I will always love you, thank you for being the one good thing in my life. Gabriel"_

Antonia sobbed and then her face changed to anger "I am going to find him, this is absurd. Get Molly on the phone, I will ask her every day to tell me where he is, until he is back here with me, he CANNOT do this."

Elle sat down "maybe it is for the best?" she knew his wishes were to be left alone and that if he found out Elle betrayed him she was in trouble

"It is not for the best Elle, it can't be for the best" Antonia looked at Elle like she just grew a second head, how could it be for the best when her heart was breaking.

"If he's using his shape shifting, there is no way for Molly to find him"

"So I should sit here and let him throw everything away"

"No, no but think on it for a bit" Elle gave her friend a hug

Antonia let her family take care of her for the rest of the day and the next morning she went to work and repeated her same routine for a while. She did track down Molly and like Elle said, he could not be found. That didn't stop her from trying, she wondered if every face she saw was actually his. A stranger would say hello, someone would help her with her grocery bags and she would think it was him. He had to slip up one day, she felt guilty using Molly so much to find him, he scared her and finally her heart broke for the young lady, Molly offered to keep helping Antonia but she couldn't. "I'll find another way" Antonia smiled and apologized to her.

In North Carolina Gabriel lived in a small house in the middle of nowhere. He was lonely at times, but it was peaceful. He had only been there for a week when Elle arrived. She told Seth she was visiting a friend, she needed to make one last ditch effort to convince him to come home.

Elle was greeted by a very short and stout man with bifocals, gingery hair and a lisp.

"Elle what the hell are you doing here?!" the man said in an irate voice

Elle burst out laughing, she laughed so hard she could hardly breathe "Oh man... this is too....oh lord" she continued laughing until she was thrown on the couch "Oh, I am SO scared. oh no.." she wiped her eyes and Sylar dropped his illusion and she saw her tall, dark and familiar ex lover "I see you gave up your shape shifting"

"It hurt too much, this is a LOT easier. I thought I told you not come here"

"Antonia is trying to find you, she called Molly, but when you use shape shifting, she can't find you because technically you don't exist or something" Elle waved her hand dismissively

"Unless you say something, I will be very hard to find"

"Doubtful, you need to man up"

"Don't lecture ME Elle"

"You're doing what Martin did to you Sylar, you are doing that to Noah!"

"No Elle I'm not, with me around they will never live a normal life"

"They won't be normal regardless, come on!" Elle was getting exasperated at what she saw was Sylar's temper tantrum and being selfish. She didn't fear speaking her mind to him.

"Elle, maybe one day when you have a family"

"Don't pull that shit with me Sylar, don't do it. I would stay, I wouldn't sneak out in the middle of the night"

"I'm so afraid of something happening Elle"

"I know, but logically... bad things are going to happen to everyone regardless, bad things will happen to you, me, Tonia, the woman who works at Whole Foods...it doesn't matter" Elle tentatively stood up and gave Sylar a hug, he stiffened a bit then hugged her back. "Come back with me Sylar, just for a while. You don't even have to be you, but talk to her, become a friend...see how much she misses you and if you decide that it is better, you let her go in the right way. Not trying to kill her, or leaving with a note"

"I'll sleep on it, you can stay in the guest room"

The next morning Sylar was awoken by banging around in the kitchen and something burning. Elle had behaved herself last night and was trying to fix some food, he chuckled to himself

"If you're hungry, I'll take you out for some food Elle, my treat"

"Thanks, because I think I burnt the waffles and set fire to this towel"

"I'll come back with you for a bit, I thought about it and I think I made a mistake"

"You did"

"Let's go"

They had breakfast and began their drive back up to New York City. He wasn't quite prepared to speak to his wife yet, having left her and Noah, she probably wasn't happy with him.

"Has she met anyone Elle?"

"Oh come on Sylar, it has been what 3 weeks... do you think she has bounced back that fast? She HAS been spending time with Peter"

"Great"

"Jealous?"

"No!' Sylar gripped the steering wheel

"I kissed Peter, a couple times"

"That's fantastic Elle, but I'm sure he is nothing like me"

"You're not jealous?"

"No, Peter may have kissed you but he didn't make you happy like I did"

"He made me happy in a different way Sylar"

"You're pushing it, this is going to be LONG car ride if you don't stop"

"Fine, let's talk about something else"

Antonia and Peter did meet for a walk and coffee one afternoon. It was peaceful and they made each other laugh. Noah had started to gurgle out noises that sounded like "baba, dada and mama" and Peter could see Antonia smile sadly when he said da da.

"Am I crazy to be missing him Peter?"

"In some ways yes, I think you could better of course but he's this little guys dad, he was willing to do a lot for you, I'm sure you had good times together"

"We did"

Peter grasped her hand a little and they continued to walk.

Peter looked at Antonia kindly "would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? We can go somewhere nice and quiet, maybe get out of the city?"

"It would be nice to have a change"

"I still haven't heard from my brother"

Antonia was not sure what to tell him, she wasn't sure if Gabriel decided to continue the charade, she really knew nothing so she offered to see if Elle had heard from him, since she was Nathan's "assistant"

She agreed to have dinner with Peter outside of town and Elle and Sylar finally arrived in NYC and she went to see Antonia, stashing Sylar quietly in her home with a book and told him to stay put.

Elle visited Antonia and they met up with Seth. Antonia mentioned to Elle that she still had not found any information on where Gabriel was, and was still worried

"If he wanted to leave forever, he would have to contact me again for a divorce.... something...."

"So you haven't made ANY leeway?" Elle asked worriedly

"No, I'm having dinner with Peter, it will be nice"

"Is it a date?"

"It's soon to date, but Peter is a good guy, he would be good for Noah, if I never find Gabriel. I could never love Peter like I loved him..." Antonia smiled sadly.

Elle returned back with the news, wanting to illicit a reaction from Sylar she told him Antonia was going on a date with Peter soon

"She is still married God dammit!"

"They're going to dinner, so I would act fast"

"You don't think he has tried anything yet?"

"Oh I don't know..." Elle smiled innocently "She may need some comfort"

"I'm going to find her"

"I wouldn't"

"Why Elle, WHY"

"Give her time, you're mad...I can intercept Peter and you can step in, but think about what she needs, don't go cutting open his head"

"If he TRIES anything with her"

"He won't, he's a gentlemen"

"He has a... he's a guy come on!"

"Sylar, just wait, let's talk'

Antonia felt uneasy with the thought of going on a "date" but reminded herself that she and Peter were friends and that it was just 2 friends comforting each other and enjoying some good food, wine and music.

Peter arrived with flowers in a nice pair of brown pants and button up shirt. Antonia was in her usual skirt and wrap around shirt. She was surprised to see tulips which were her favorite, she didn't recall telling Peter she liked tulips.

"Thank you Peter" he kissed her on the cheek

"You're welcome, do you have everything"

"I misplaced my cell phone, but yea I have everything. I probably left it at my brothers. Noah is with Seth and Elle tonight"

Peter and Antonia arrived at a great restaurant with light, live music. They had a nice night and talking, laughing and dancing. Had dessert and coffee and Peter walked her up to her door step. She invited Peter in and he accepted.

They were talking and laughing through the night, Kayla brought Noah home and he was still awake and happy as can be. It sounded like he said something about da da and Kayla noticed the look on Peter's face when he heard it, it was not the look of a friend, it was the look of someone who heard their son say their first word. Antonia didn't notice. Kayla left and Antonia put Noah in his crib.

"Do you miss him?"

"Gabriel, of course... I wish I knew where he was, I want to talk to him"

"You really loved him?" Peter asked

"I still do, crazy huh?" Antonia chuckled

"So if I kissed you, you wouldn't like it?"

"That would be a very fast move, I'm still married...I wouldn't slap you though" she smiled, she really wanted to feel something again

He kissed her a bit and she didn't respond so he pressed further

"Annie"

"Peter, don't call me Annie, please"

He kept trying to kiss her and she wanted to give in, and he lost his defenses as did she "I miss Gabriel so much, I'm so sorry" she had her eyes closed and touched his face she stopped for a second and felt his lips again, there was stubble on his cheeks and chin, the lips were fulerl and for the litmus test she stroked his face, including above his eyes and started unbuttoning his shirt.

He didn't realize he dropped the illusion and he heard Antonia whisper "I knew you couldn't let anyone else kiss me"

"I want you"

"Shut up, don't talk" she was kissing him more and ripped his pants away, keeping her eyes closed she brought him into her bedroom and kissed him more passionately, when she finally opened her eyes she saw him

"Noah said daddy" Gabriel smiled

"Yes he did, if you EVER leave me again I will make sure that your death sticks"

"Peter got called into work"

"Oh baby, did he" she kissed him again and pinned his arms above his head and she grabbed his belt to tie his hands together

"I love you Annie"

"I don't want to talk right now, we'll talk in the morning"

"I'm sorry" she kissed him hard and made sure to tire him out enough so he wouldn't be able to get out of bed until the morning.

He stroked her hair gently and held her close "you wouldn't have done anything with Peter.." he said softly

"No, no....no..." Antonia sighed and kissed him on the cheek "we'll talk in the morning, everything will be fine"

The next morning Antonia was happy to see Gabriel next to her. She saw that he was awake and went to get up but he pulled her back and mumbled "where are you going?"

"Getting some water" Antonia said quietly

"No, how did you sleep?" he kissed her on the lips very soft and lingering

"Good, I had a nice dream"

"Was I naked?" Gabriel arched his eyebrow

"You're always naked in my dreams"

"Good" he said firmly

"Where are your clothes and everything Gabe?"

"At Elle's"

"Elle's! How.. why?" Antonia was a bit confused and lack of caffeine and happiness Gabriel was back made it a bit hard for her to get annoyed.

"She found me, she also helped me find who killed your mother. She knew Vanessa, the daughter with elasticity"

"My mom knew what happened to Elle?"

"Probably" he said sadly

"I wish I met her back then, but I didn't know"

"Maybe you two can be friends now"

"Perhaps, but right now I just want to get friendly with you" Antonia smiled and nibbled at his neck and he started tickling her. "Why did you leave?" Antonia ran her hand over his face and kissed his cheek

"It was stupid I know, but I got nervous, I mean logically I am the common thread to all of your hurt, pain and I couldn't do it anymore"

"What made you come back?"

"I was lonely, I was being like my father....which I NEVER wanted to be and I was going to be a nobody by myself in North Carolina, which by the way, I DO have a house so we can use it for a nice get away"

"So what now?"

"I'll figure something out" and kissed her again and again and reunited once more before going about their day.

"We should go and get your things, from Elle's..."Antonia said while sipping coffee with Gabriel. She was curled up on the couch and lazily kissed him again

"I forgot to mention something" he said quietly

"What?"

"I mean, it goes without saying... I also came back because of you and Noah, you're my family. I missed you, I love you" he smiled at her and held her close

"I keep worrying, if something else is going to happen, something bad"

"Annie, you don't have to worry about that, ever, I'll make sure of it. Let's go get my things, we can spend some time with Elle and your family, we'll have a nice day" Gabriel smiled at her again and stroked her hair

Antonia trusted her husband as much as she could and while she wanted to believe everything would be perfect for a while, there always seemed to be something that happened to cause a rift. She wanted to be with Gabriel and didn't believe that she could love anyone as much as him, she wanted to have a bigger family with him, travel with him but his need to be special, the people who might be after him and her own past issues might end up being the end.

Gabe took her out of her revere and kissed her again, and wrapped his arms around her, telling her she was the most beautiful and the most special woman he knew. She felt the same way but she wondered why at times there was a little voice in the back of her head telling her to run away as well.

Gabriel had no such thoughts, he was completely sure of his relationship with Antonia and with his family. While he wasn't sure of his next move, there was no question that about her and his feelings.

Antonia left to go see Elle and pick up Gabriel's things. She wanted to thank her for what she had done, it also gave Gabe the chance to spend more time with Noah. Gabriel sat on the couch with his son, when he was looking up at him, Gabe couldn't help but feel this sense of love, he couldn't believe that this little boy was his and Noah was looking at him with those eyes, they were hazel, a mixture of his and Antonia's, his dad's jet black hair and he noticed a bit of a brow forming already and he chuckled a bit. He was sure Noah would have an ability, and needed to teach him how to respect it and use it wisely. Especially if it was something like his original one. He was hoping it was one he had already, deep down inside he was a bit nervous that he would covet his son's, and any other child's power but he knew he had to fight it, actually if one ended up being a healer or immortal like him, all the better, he would have someone familiar with him forever, and their blood could heal. He smiled and held his son close to him and whispered "I love you"

Antonia arrived at Elle's apartment with a cherry slush-o. Elle plucked it out of hand and sipped it "Thanks stormy!"

"Thank YOU"

"For what?" Elle opened the door for her and let her in

"You helped find the man who killed my mother"

"It had to be done, someone like that doesn't have the right to roam the streets, I knew his daughter, we were friends... kind of" Elle's eyes hardened

"Thanks for bringing Gabe back"

"Well, I need to keep Sylar in my sights, I have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, I don't completely trust him."

"I've been having this strange feeling lately, like something's going to happen"

"Did you have a dream?" Elle looked a bit interested now

"No, but I've barely slept lately, I might just be a bit paranoid, I'm being silly"

"You are silly, but you're not an idiot, you probably have a legitimate worry"

"Why did you try to find him Elle, you're not a very big fan of his"

"I'm starting to not hate you, which is big because I don't really have friends. Especially not with females, they're usually jealous of me or I've threatened to kill them. He can't just run from what he has done, not all of can become a new person and forget about the people he left behind"

"I'm starting to get an affinity for you too Elle"

"Thanks Stormy"

"Elle, you know he's not all bad, he has a softer side"

"There is a small part of him that had the capacity for good, yes. He can have a big heart that is only matched by his HUGE ego and his..." Elle trailed off when she saw Antonia blush

"Nothing happened with you two, right?"

"In North Carolina NO, no... that time when you were together, we didn't even finish so you don't have to worry about me"

"We're probably going to have to go down there, we might use it for a vacation house"

"What are we going to about our plan?" Elle asked, she ran her fingers through her hair

"I just don't know yet Elle"

They quietly chatted for a while longer before Antonia returned home with the rest of Gabriel's things.

When Antonia returned home Kayla was over and quietly playing chess with Gabe

"Hi Kayla" she gave her sister a hug "we're going down to North Carolina for a few days, do you want to come with us?"

"Sounds good to me, I NEED a vacation" Kayla said dramatically

"Why don't we bring Elle and Seth, we can make a kind of family trip out of it?' Gabriel asked

"I'm surprised you want to invite Elle'

"She doesn't get out much, besides the 3 of us need to talk" he gave Antonia a look that indicated it was about their plan, since Kayla remembered nothing he needed to tread lightly.

North Carolina was a success both with planning and with relaxing and getting away from all of the hardships of the last couple of weeks. It was beautiful, peaceful and Antonia wanted to stay a bit longer but missed her bustle of the city and needed to get back to work eventually. Gabriel told her that there was no need to worry about money, he had it in abundance but Antonia loved working and was thinking of opening her own practice one day.

They left Noah with Seth and Elle for the night a week after they came back. Antonia had an 8 hour surgery and Gabriel had to go to go to Washington DC.

Elle had been spending more and more time with Seth lately and was beginning to enjoy it. He wasn't just a masochist who liked being shocked and having a cute blond on his arm, he was actually good to her and didn't pity her or try to manipulate her. He had rehearsal late one night, and she was alone in his apartment. Elle felt lately that someone or something was following her. However, she had these issues in the past, being a bit paranoid, always looking over her shoulder so she thought nothing of it. She was wrong.

She stupidly let her guard down, the last thing she remembered was in the kitchen getting water, Noah was quietly sleeping. For having two super powered, type A parents he was a surprisingly quiet baby. She awoke tied up in a van, she heard Noah cooing. She hesitated using her powers at first, checked to see if she still had them, she felt a spark emit from the back of her hand.

Seth was frantic when he returned home. His place was ransacked and Noah and Elle were gone. He was confused, worried and frantic. He called her and the phone buzzed in her purse, she left with no identification, nothing, it didn't make sense.

He went to see his sister first. She was still in surgery. Antonia was elbow deep in someones kidney when she was paged. She was annoyed and thought it better not be Elle or her brother asking something foolish, they should be able to feed a baby some milk without it turning into deciphering the dead sea scrolls.

She saw Seth, pale and red eyed

"What's wrong?' Antonia demanded

"Tonia... it's Elle and Noah"

"What?" Antonia grabbed her brothers arm

"They're gone"

"Where did they go?" Antonia was getting nervous but also annoyed, her brother had a hard time getting to the point

"They disappeared, no note, my apartment trashed"

"Where were you?"

"Rehearsal. Elle's purse, Noah's diaper bag is at my apartment, but they're gone"

"We need to search, we need to tell Gabriel"

"He's going to go insane, he's not going to want to contact the police, he will just want to rip someones head off... literally" Seth said shaking his head

"Yes, there's no doubt of that" Antonia was trying to remain calm, she knew that Elle wouldn't have just taken Noah. She might be a bit loopy at times, but she had a limit.

Gabe was spending the night in DC. In his hotel room late he was watching a movie and toying with calling his wife and leaving her a racy message to listen to when she got out of surgery. He was pleasantly surprised at first to see her, then her brother followed and his plans for her quickly vanished.

"What is going on?" Gabriel demanded

"It's Noah"

Gabriel felt sick to his stomach "what..." he trailed off "Oh god, he's not..." he started breathing heavily and sat down

"He's missing, him and Elle"

"She took him!!!?" he yelled loudly

"No" Antonia was numb and shaking "We cannot even call the police for 24 hours... he is a child!"

"They can say we gave Elle permission to take him" Gabriel was angry and handed Antonia something "put this in your purse, you might need, I shouldn't have it" it was a small silver pistol "when I find the son of a bitch who did this..."

"We will, we will. Who would do it, this is Elle, what does Noah have to do with Elle" Seth wondered out loud

"Does Elle have any enemies.. wouldn't they know Noah wasn't hers, she has nothing to do with you anymore Gabe" Antonia had her arm around Gabriel the whole time

"It's me, it has to be me. Bennett"

Gabe ran to the window, grateful for the elder Petrelli's power of flight he went off without a thought to the Bennett home. Luckily he was home, at his desk. He wasn't going to kill him, he was going to beat the truth out of him.

Noah was shocked at first, Gabriel threw the first punch. It felt exhilarating, he didn't want to use his powers. He wanted to feel every bone of Bennett's body break

"Where" punch "IS" punch "MY" punch "SON" punch. He threw Bennett against the wall, eyes blazing "TELL ME YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH" Bennett subdued Sylar for a second with a quick jab but they continued fighting

Bennett finally uttered his first words "what are you talking about!? Why are you here"

"Shut up!!! Where is he, where's my little boy and where is Elle, what did you do"

"I don't know what you're talking about Sylar, you are the last person I care about now. I lost my daughter, I'm trying to keep it together for Lyle and Sandra. They're upstairs now" Sylar used his ability and saw he was telling the truth and was shocked.

Lyle had wandered downstairs during the fight with his dads pistol, Bennett noticed this and shook his head "Go see if your mother is alright, everything's fine down here, we're just talking"

"Noah and Elle are gone, who would want to hurt them?"

"I know you tried to save Claire"

"I'm trying to be better for them, for Annie and our family, it's not working out too well but I'm trying" Sylar had sat down and was close to tears, but there was no way he would EVER let Bennett see him cry.

"Do you need my help?" Bennett asked, shocked that he would think to ask, but no father should have to lose a child and it was a pain that was still fresh in his heart

"No" Sylar scoffed

"Yes you do" he said firmly "I know how these things go, if you think they were after Elle, then Noah was in the way. If they were trying to hurt you, that may have made a mistake and thought you were married to Elle and was the mother of Noah"

"I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt Elle, so again it must be me" Sylar shook his head sadly

Bennett went with Sylar to see Seth and Antonia again and they went back to Seth's apartment to look for clues. Gabriel figured his power, seeing the history of an object might come in handy.

Antonia was hesitant when seeing Bennett and Seth glared at him "I remember you" Seth said coldly

"You're the only one I have ever met with multiplicity Seth, how are you" Bennett smirked

Antonia still wanted to call the police but when it came to these kinds of things, people with abilities missing, doing bad things etc.. being suspected it was better to err on the side of caution.

Gabriel held his wife close "I promised you, no matter what, we can get through anything. I won't let you down" he kissed her and Bennett was quite shocked at seeing such a warm side to someone he thought of as the worse kind of monster.

"We just need to find him, he needs to come home safe as does Elle, they won't get away with this..." she kissed him gently

Elle looked around the dingy place she was in, hands tightly tied she knew she couldn't use her ability, for fear her captor had an ability himself, maybe something bad that would be stronger than hers and also she needed to assess the situation before she started blasting everything in site. It was a creepy place, she felt eyes looking at her and there was a small bassinet, looked to be nearly 30 years old with Noah sleeping soundly. He was cooing in his sleep so she figured he was fine for now.

She saw a man kneel down in front of her. He was jaundice, old with a wild mess of gray hair and dark cold eyes. He could barely breathe and figured he bribed some hired goons to kidnap them because there was NO way he could have done so

"Elle" the man spoke

"How do you know me"

"I believe we have a mutual acquaintance"

"What do you mean? Why am I here" she felt her sparks rising, she wasn't going to be a victim in some perverts sick and twisted imagination

"You're acquainted with Gabriel Gray?"

"I wa... yes" she changed her tune

"That is his son, you're his wife"

"Wife?"

"You're the mother of his child? You were lovers once. Last time I checked" he smiled at her kindly and she saw his teeth were rotting away

"What do you want with us"

"That will come in time, I was looking for Claire Bennett, but I understand there was an accident, and I understand Gabriel died"

Clearly this man stopped his research somewhere in the middle and wasn't very bright... she had to think fast

"So this is because of Gabriel?"

"We have unfinished business. He has something of mine and I figured I could get it from either you or your son, or your future child"

"I'm not pregnant"

"Maybe" he said darkly

"Who are you?" Elle demanded through clenched teeth, she wanted to kill him on the spot, but if he didn't have a power, he could have his cronies waiting behind a door ready to shoot to kill

"Sorry, I'm being rude. Would you like a drink, something to eat"

"Name!" She yelled

"You're a good company girl I can tell, you really have no clue who I am" he laughed "I knew your father"

"Great"

"I'm Samson Gray Nice to meet you"


	16. Chapter 16

Antonia, Bennett, Sylar and Seth returned back to the city and to Seth's apartment. Kayla was looking for clues in Elle's phone, anything to help them. She saw Bennett and hugged him

"How are you Noah?"

"Fine, how are you holding up?"

Seth looked suspicious "how do you two know each other?"

"He's Claire's dad, my friend Claire, blond, green eyed..she died..." Kayla said rolling her eyes at her brother.

"I know Kayla, I know who she was, I'm sorry"

"You should be"

Sylar glared at both of them "We're going to stop arguing NOW, I need to think, shut up"

Kayla gave her brother in law a hug "We'll find him and Elle"

"I know"

Sylar walked around the apartment, touching various objects, seeing who has touched it. He saw certain things he didn't want to see "Seth, in the sink... really?" he laughed a bit then he stopped, turned pale and saw who thought might be the ones who took Elle and little Noah.

Antonia was searching Elle's purse and saw her husband

"What is it?"

"Swat members, but that's over with I thought...something is not right here" Sylar ran his fingers through his hair

"We need to find them, see who sent them and take care of this" Antonia said firmly

"Yes we do"

"I always knew you would become a hero Gabe"

"Did you dream it?" he asked sarcastically and a bitterly

"No" she kissed him "we'll get them back"

"How are you so calm?" Sylar asked a bit exasperated

"You're nervous enough for both of us, me being hysterical will not bring Noah back and won't bring Elle back, trust me I am terrified and am ready to maim whomever took our son but we need to be calm now" Antonia wrapped her arms around Gabriel's waste. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he rested his head on her shoulder "it's okay, he'll be fine baby" she said softly "we'll get him back"

Elle was wide eyed "Samson.... Gray?"

"Gabriel's father"

Elle was shocked, she thought Arthur was his real dad, she believed them and to be honest she pictured someone like that being Sylar's father. Someone powerful, regal with a bad streak. Someone handsome, Sylar was a lot of things and hard on the eyes wasn't one of them. This man was sick, weak and scary. Sylar must have been horrified to learn that this man was his father.

"Yes, his mom died when he was little and I sold him him to my brother Martin and his wife"

"Sold him!" Elle knew that her upbringing wasn't the best and perhaps her father wasn't known as being the most upstanding of men but he would never have sold her, no amount of money in the world should make a parent do that to a child.

"He had the power I had, we were both killers, both took what didn't belong to us. He was soft, looking for good in people" he scoffed "wanting to be special"

"He believed there was good, it's true" Elle smiled a bit

"He was wrong, all wrong. I can't take his ability now that he's dead, he refused to kill me so NOW I have you and I have the baby and we can see what can be done"

"I don't heal"

"I understand you survived an accident"

"I was taken to the hospital, there was no healing blood or anything, just good old fashioned medicine" Elle was slowly sparking up to burn through the ropes then she was going to zap this bastard to oblivion

"Now this boy, he may have what I need, or maybe if you're..."

"I am not pregnant, I know this for a fact AND you expect me to sit here while I watch you saw a baby's skull open"

"This isn't your son, is it Elle?"

"No, he's not"

"Then why do you care?"

"He's a BABY!"

"Not yours, I thought you liked bad guys"

'Your son would NEVER hurt a child, he may have done some horrid things but he wouldn't hurt a child"

"Who is the mother?"

"I'm not telling you"

He used telekenisis to start choking her "oh yes you will, I have ways to get it out of you and no I wasn't going to saw the babys skull open, I was going to take a sample of blood and see if it worked"

Elle realized if she called Antonia, Sylar would be close behind and would have no problem taking him out. Numbers were their biggest advantage.

Sylar tracked down the swat team that he saw with his ability. They wouldn't talk, no matter how hard they tried. Antonia was outside the room while Bennett and Sylar "interrogated" them and an unavailable number came up on her phone

"Hello"

"Stormy"

"Elle!" Antonia yelled excitedly "oh GOD you are okay, is Noah with you?? Is he..."

"He's fine, where are you?"

"I'm with Gabe and Bennett we're searching for you"

"I need you to come to the address I am about to give you, everything is fine. I just took Noah and you can get him back if you come with Sylar"

"You took him Elle" Antonia was confused and felt as though something else was going on. It made very little sense

"Yes stormy, I took him, I was angry that you had him with Gabriel, who I love. Don't bring the police"

"I won't, I'll come see you Elle"

Antonia burst through the door and yelled at them both and ignored the poor bloodied swat team member

"Elle called, we have to go NOW"

"Where is she?"

"Is Noah with her?" Gabriel asked

"Yes, but she's in trouble, she said she took Noah because she was angry at me, for being with you.. she was in distress when she called. This is the address" she showed Bennett and Gabriel the address and Gabriel's eyes widened

"Oh no..." he went from concerned to enraged

"What is it?" Antonia asked softly

"My father did this, I should have killed the son of a bitch when I had the chance"

Elle had snapped the phone shut and was trying to calm a fussy Noah.

"I called, they're on their way"

"The mother, she wouldn't know about me would she?"

"Not a chance, you know Noah might not even have a genetic code"

"Both parents having multiple powers, this little guy could be a healer"

"He hasn't manifested, he's just a little boy" Elle wanted Sylar to have the chance to confront his father before she murdered him for kidnapping her

"Bennett, thank you for helping us" Sylar said a bit apprehensively

"I can come with you"

"I need to do this alone"

Antonia spoke up "I actually need to go on my own, but I know that's not going to stop you Gabe..." she shook her head

"Fine, the 3 of us will go but even though my father is sick and pathetic he is still a bad version of me and that's saying a lot. Also, the 2 of you... hop on, I'm flying"

"You cannot fly with the 2 of us on your back babe"

They finally agreed to use the company helicopter, Bennett was still connected with certain people and they were able to land about 3 miles away from Samson's home and walk the rest of the way.

With each step Gabe become more enraged, Antonia started to run and they caught up with her

"We have to do this together, I can't let you go in alone" Gabriel grabbed her hand

"Fine"

Bennett search around the home to make sure there wasn't anyone watching. It was desolate and in the middle of nowhere, it would be impossible to hide if needed.

Antonia walked in first and saw Elle, an old man and her son.

"Elle, how are you?" Antonia reached out to her and the man telekentically stopped her

"Are you this boys mother?"

"Yes, what do you need from him...from us"

"I need to live, my son was weak, he couldn't kill me, he got himself killed,left you and this boy alone"

"So you think my son might be able to help you, I certainly can't. I can't heal"

"You have an ability"

"Do you want to see it?" Antonia asked coldly

"Later, we have all night" Samson said sadistically

"Good for us" a voice piped in

"Gabriel?" Samson raised his hand to subdue his son and Gabriel laughed and threw him on the couch

"So I'm weak, oh and dead... funny"

"I need your power, you left me here to die, you couldn't kill me!" Gabriel still had Samson

Elle sent over a zap of electricity towards Samson and went to grab Antonia and Noah to get out

"We need to go outside"

"Bennett is out there Elle, take Noah to him"

"You are coming with me!"

"No, go, Elle. I'm fine"

"Antonia get out of here" Gabriel glared at her "go with Elle"

"I can easily get to her and your son and whoever else I need" Samson chocked out

Sylar was holding him as long as he could, but his father was strong and he needed to get his family out. Antonia ran out with Noah and Elle stayed in

"Elle, GO!" Samson got up and threw Elle across the room and was met with an electrical blast which knocked him tot the floor. Sylar ran over to Elle and helped her up, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek "are you okay? get out of here, okay.. please"

"Why are you being so lovey with me, it's odd and I'm not leaving, I'm going to kill him myself"

"No, this is my fight. Did anything happen to Noah, he was going kill him, to see if he had power"

"No, he didn't do anything to him, he thought Antonia might be able to help, he thought I was your wife and maybe if I was pregnant too, maybe that child could heal. It's insane"

'He's not playing with a full deck" he heard his father groaning and Elle made her way out of the house to Bennett and Antonia.

"This ends, now!" Sylar growled at him "You sold me, you killed my mother, then you try to kill my son"

"We could have been a great team Gabriel" his father looked up at him

"This is such an unfair fight dad" he said spit out "dad' like it was venom "but I'm going to enjoy this"

'You have to learn one day, people are good for nothing, once Noah manifests you are going to want that power. Didn't you want your wife's?"

"I have it and no, I wouldn't hurt my son, he means more to me than power"

"You say that now"

"Do you remember, what my mother was like?"

"She was smart, beautiful, loving and wanted you more than anything, I on the other hand didn't"

"You took Luke under your wing?"

"He reminded me of you, did you kill him Gabriel?"

"No"

"See you're getting soft, you might not grow old like me, but you'll suffer a lot more and for a lot longer"

"That's a chance I'm willing to take"

"I can teach you so much more"

"I know everything I need to know, you're worthless, pathetic and people like you shouldn't be allowed to exist" Sylar threw him on the couch and screamed at him, causing him to loose the hearing he had left, grabbed some gasoline and used Elle's power to slowly burn the house down until there was nothing left.

When they finally got home Seth was there for Elle, that night Gabriel brought Noah's crib into their bedroom so his family could be close to him/ They thanked Bennett for his help and he slept on their couch for the night, they were emotionally and physically exhausted.

Gabe heard Antonia crying a bit beside him and he held her close and cried along with her "I was scared, terrified" she gasped

"So was I, I love you so much but he's fine and he won't remember it... our little boy is fine" he kissed her

The next morning Antonia and Noah were still sleeping and Gabe had been up the whole night watching over them, making sure nothing happened.

He went out into the living room to see Bennett awake with the paper, Gabriel smiled at him "can I talk to you?" Bennett looked at Sylar surprised and curious.

"Sure, let's talk"

Gabriel sat down with coffee for him and Bennett

"So, I was thinking" Sylar looked a bit sheepish and Bennett was smirking a bit

"Well, we had our difference right? We don't like each other at all"

"True Gabriel" Bennett sipped his coffee and was awaiting Gabriel to get to the point

"I realized last with Noah and Elle, I was terrified something happened to him. I care about Elle, even though you and her made me this way, you forced me when I felt remorse, but when I thought Noah was hurt, my son! I felt so much anger"

"Okay"

"He won't remember this, but Claire she did, Molly Walker will remember what I did to her and her family. They didn't deserve it, and while I hate you I see where you're coming from. That's why I tried to save Claire, she deserved to have some sense of normalcy, she should have gone to college, dated..." Bennett remembered the smiling, gurgling Noah, so innocent and oblivious to the issues going on, he was fed and someone picked him up, he was happy.

"Are you apologizing Gabriel" Bennett was smiling

"No, I'm just saying that I can see why you, well when your family is in danger.... stop making this hard on me"

"Elle cared about you too"

"Antonia though, she is amazing. She knows what I've done but she still loves me for some reason. I cared about Elle a lot"

"Sandra too, it's amazing people's capacity to forgive"

"It really is incredible"

"I know you want to make changes, and you want to do, not GOOD but something...maybe you can join the company"

"I thought the company was gone?" Sylar scoffed at him

"We started a new one, and we could use someone like you"

"A monster"

"No, someone who can think like one, you shape shift, you're smart and I can keep my eye on you"

"I'll think about it" Sylar nodded and Bennett left a short while later.

He crept into his bedroom and saw Antonia was in the shower. He fed Noah and put him back in the crib. Then stripped down and slid behind his wife once she got out. Her body fit perfectly with his and he kissed her neck, shoulders and took her right there.

"I love you too much' he whispered

Antonia took his hand and led him into their room, massaging his shoulders she kneeled down on their bed and he rubbed his chest and legs "lay down babe" she whispered and kissed his neck, chest and belly "how are you?"

"mmmm" he moaned a bit

"that was scary wasn't it?" she whispered in his ear and ran her hands up and down his arms, through his hair and spent a bit of time on his stomach.

"It was, I'm sorry my family isn't normal" he said softly

"It's okay, you're nothing like him"

"Aren't I?" he looked her dead in the eye and she kissed him gently

"No"

"You really thought I'd be a hero one day, a good guy" he asked and pulled her close

"Yes" she smiled at him "let me make you happy, love you, has anyone ever just made you happy" she kissed him and felt his body against hers

"Never. I won't let anything happen to you or Noah AGAIN. I swear"

"I know"

"I would never hurt you"

"Shh Gabe, it's okay, I love you" she lifted him up a bit and pressed herself against his chest, kissing him passionately, his skin was still damp and he smelled like after shave and soap and his hands got tangled in her hair

"What did Bennett want from you?"

"Long story" he silenced her by kissing her and pulling her back on top of him.

He wanted to spend the whole day wrapped up in sheets with Antonia, just taking her in. She was as close to perfect as he could imagine.

He kissed her again and again and she smiled that smile at him that made him melt a bit. He hated being weak, but she didn't judge him, she just loved him but he was so afraid still. Afraid that something he does will be the final straw and she'll leave him.

"After seeing my dad last night, I keep thinking of my mom, what he said about her how she was sweet, loving and good and it didn't matter I still turned out the way I did"

"You're not your father Gabriel, again... NOT your father" she kissed him

"You love Gabriel, that's who you want, but what if that's not me anymore... what if I keep falling back into Sylar"

"We'll work it out, I do love you. All you good and bad, I may not LIKE it, I may hate it a bit, but I love you" she stroked his forehead and sighed "you know, you could come from a family like the Cleaver's and still be messed up, people can do bad things and come from great families. Saints can come from abuse, you just don't know"

"What if Noah becomes worse than me, ends up killing us or something"

It was an opportune time for the little guy to giggle "See, he's laughing at you Gabe, he thinks you're CRAZY" she winked at him and he glared at her, most people couldn't talk to him like that or they would find them on the receiving end of his wrath but not her, she could do whatever she wanted then smiled and kissed her on her nose "Gabriel, listen to me now, because it is getting REALLY old, we'll work anything out we need to, you are not all bad and I think you need to focus on what you really want and stop worrying about what might happen in 20 years"

"Bennett wants me to perhaps join a new company, I could make a difference, get the power and authority I desire.. I am still technically Nathan SO I could continue to peruse that too"

"Do what you want sweetie" Antonia stretched out "if you're so worried about Noah or any of other children getting screwed up we can do something simple to prevent it"

"What" he raised his eyebrows at him

"Never have sex again, no chance of getting pregnant and having a kid cramping our bad ass style, getting in the way of our fun' she smiled innocently at him

"NEVER" he looked at her in mock horror

"Nope, no sex at all, nothing" She scooched away from him and he grabbed her around her waist and tickled her a bit

"Then what will we do all day?'

"We could talk, read a book, plot world domination"

"2 of those 3 are bad" he puckered his bottom out for a second and contemplated what she said and kissed her passionately "you're insane Mrs. Gray" and he buried his head under the covers to make her forget her silly and completely nonsensical thoughts she was having earlier.

"We should eventually get out of bed" Antonia sighed and rolled on her side, stretching out.

"That's not fun" Gabriel kissed her on her shoulder

"We could do something tonight, something semi normal"

"Intriguing babe, what is it?" he kissed her on her nose

"After our day off we could have dinner with a coworker and her husband. She's one of the administrators at the hospital and her husband is a buyer for Saks I believe"

"Sounds boring actually" he nibbled on her neck a bit more and pulled her close

"No, it might be fun"

"An experiment, see if I fit in?" Gabriel rolled his eyes

"No, to see if we both fit in"

"What did you tell them I do?"

"You restore time pieces, besides get friendly with her husband, he can get you some great clothes"

"I wasn't planning on wearing clothes for the next couple days" Gabriel rolled over on top of his wife "I really just want you"

''We're going to have to leave the house one day baby" she ran her hands down his belly

"Fine, we'll go tonight but I'm telling you it is not going to be as fun as this, do you want me to shave and wear a sweater vest?"

Antonia smiled brlightly "I would prefer it, stop teasting me"

He got out of bed and went into the bathroom to get ready. She didn't want to change him, but if she wanted her plan, plan to open her own practice, help people... separate from their plans with this possible new company, her plans she needed Gabriel to be able to meet with colleagues and friends in a professional setting. She knew he could do it, he could be anyone he wanted to be, but he was also in a way pretty shy and introverted. For all of Sylar's bravado he would always be her Gabriel, her first love, the first man she chose to be with and the only one she wanted.

Gabriel and Antonia arrived at the restaurant a bit early. He was wearing a nice pair of dark jeans and a button up shirt, she didn't understand how after all of this time he still could take her breath away.

"I'm Dr. Ceppaglia to both of these people

"You're Mrs. Gray to me sweetie" he ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her

"Dr. Gray to you"

"Dr. Gray I have a problem, a swelling..."

"Oh, my GOD. Seriously, that sounds dangerous" Antonia joked "we have to be good, this is my boss"

"I'll be good, but VERY bad later"

Gabriel and Antonia sat down with her boss and her husband. Their names were Mary and Francis, Francis was about 5 feet 7 and Gabriel loomed over him as he always seemed to do with people

"Pleasure to meet you" he shook Francis's hand and started to gain information from him, including the fact that he was cheating on his wife and had a gambling problem. He was hesitant then to shake Mary's hand and saw she wasn't much better.

"So Tonia, how is your little guy"

"Fine, fine, growing bigger every day"

"Good,have you been here before?" Mary asked the both of them. Gabriel hadn't been there before, but Sylar had. In fact he killed someone in the kitchen before he saw Antonia again, but because of the virus was unable to obtain their power.

"Never, I bet it's good" Gabriel smiled at them and the waitress took their orders

"So Gabriel you are a watch maker?"

"I am"

"What do you think of this one?"

"It's running 3 minutes and 5 seconds slow, gaining 3 seconds every hour, you should get it checked" he bit off a piece of bread

"Are you for real?"

"Oh you have NO idea" Gabriel smiled and raised his eyebrows

"So Mary, I am really glad you invited us to dinner, I wanted to talk to you about opening up a new clinic"

"We will talk about that, but first I want to get to know you guys better, I know next to nothing about this handsome husband of yours. WHERE did you find him" Mary smiled at him kindly

"I met him at his watch shop. He owns it"

"How long have you been together?"

"A little over a year"

"Are you from around her Gabriel?"

"Yes, I grew up in Queens"

After a while of small talk with Mary and Francis, Antonia could see Gabe was becoming bored, he was scanning the room and Francis mentioned a myth he heard about a man who used to kill people and steal their brains

"THAT is interesting" Gabriel nodded "I wonder what happened to this man?'

"I don't know, but he certainly couldn't have mine" Francis laughed

"I don't know why he would want yours Frank!" Gabriel scowled and smirked, Antonia kicked him under the table

"You're a funny guy Gabriel"

"I'm funny" he smiled at Antonia and rubbed her knee then proceeded to shock her a little

Mary interjected at that moment before dinner arrived to mention a new system for mapping the brain that could help perform more successful tumor removals, it was a medical break through. Gabriel laughed "that doesn't sound right"

"Care to explain why, do you have an advanced degree in medicine" Mary asked

"It's a hobby of mine, I mean do you REALLY think going through the cerebral cortex is going to help, there are so many synapses and..."Gabe proceeded to go on a detailed explanation on the complexities of what was wrong with the system and how to fix it "I understand how things work" Gabriel smiled and sipped his Pinot and smiled at the gawking faces of Mary and Francis, Antonia smiled nervously

"How on earth do you know this?" Francis asked

"Just a hobby, you know when the watch shop gets quiet and my Annie is at work or when she IS home and we're not exploring new uses for our various house hold appliances" Gabriel whispered the last part in Antonia's ear very softly.

"Well, I think that is amazing'

Antonia smiled brightly "Great!"

When they finally got home that night Gabriel kissed her "it wasn't so bad was it? She better give you exactly what you want"

"Did you use any of your powers on them"

He kissed her gently and led her to their room 'so what if I did, sometimes you have to sweetie. I love you" he smiled innocently at her

"Love you too" she curled up next to him and drifted off to bed.

Sylar was in a living room with a man in his 50's and a women in her 20's. One had red hair, the other had jet black and in his arms was a woman with emerald green shining eyes, stark white hair and was frail,wrinkled and shaking.

The man turned to Sylar and said "you have to let her go, it's time"

"No, I can't" he gasped out

The woman gazed at him and smiled "it's time"

"No you promised me, you told me you would be with me forever, you can't" he was angry, enraged and wanted the two people to leave the room immediately so he could help her, but he couldn't.

"Mom is sick, I can't keep giving her my blood, dad please" the younger woman was pleading with him and he threw her across the room

"You want her to die! Give me your blood, I didn't raise you to be selfish"

The other man raised a gun to her "you told me once dad, there's a difference between taking what you want and protecting what is already yours, she's in pain"

"This isn't like you"

"I am exactly like you dad, I learned from the best, I'm horrible"

"No you're not Noah, please"

"She has to die"

"You're going to kill your mother, you're going to have to get through me"  
Sylar yelled and he was suddenly taken to a quiet place, holding his wife in his arms, she was 26 again with auburn hair and he kissed her, and kissed her "I love you, you told me you would be with me.... don't go"

"Good bye Gabriel" she stroked his face and he heard gun shots and her body was bleeding "no please" he was panting and crying, riddled with sobs

"Sweetie, wake up. Gabe"

He jerked up and saw Antonia next to him, her hair tumbling down her back, in his t shirt she hugged him

"It's okay"

"f**k empathy, damn that Peter Petrelli and stupid.."

"Why are you cursing Peter Petrelli at 5 am? It was a bad dream" he put his palms on his face

"I think I gained your precognitive dreaming through empathy"

"Or it could be a bad dream, lay down" he obliged and looked at her as she stroked his chest and kissed him

"I thought I needed to feel pain and I felt it, horribly" he kissed her and started to tug off her night shirt

"It's okay baby, you probably don't have it, just a nightmare" she kissed him "I'm here, I'm fine okay" she pushed her body against his and she comforted him in the best way she could

"I don't want this, whatever it is"

"You probably don't have it, isn't there something you could do with your DNA... to get rid of it, if you do have?" she placed her mouth against his and kissed him passionately "my wonderful Gabe, stop worrying"

"Don't you have to go to work" he moaned

"We have time, let me take care of you"

"Don't you want to hear about my dream, am I piece of meat or something" he chuckled and his hands made there way up her chest taking her in his mouth

"You're a nice toy to play with sometimes, yes. I want you to forget this"

"It was like the one you had, when you were 90..." he looked at her sadly

"I'm here, and that is all that matters"

"I love you Annie"

"I know, I love you too, now shhh" she smiled at him

Gabriel fed Noah while Antonia got ready for work, his son seemed happy and content but he couldn't shake the dream he had, it was so real and vivid. She came in to kiss them good bye and he looked at her a bit pained

"We had a daughter, she was a healer. I think she regenerated like me"

"Okay"

"She had red hair and hazel eyes..."

"She sounds pretty" Antonia kissed him "What are you doing today?"

"Going to see Peter, as Nathan. Some brotherly bonding" He looked down at his son again "Noah kills you Annie"

"Which one"

"Our son, Noah!"

"What? Don't be silly" she murmured to her son "awww, are you going to kill mommy? oh, my little Noah, why are you going to kill mommy" Noah did take that moment to grab her hair and pull. She smiled at Gabriel and kissed him on the lips "I think it was just a nightmare"

"I love you, see you later" he set Noah down in his crib and put his arms around his wifes waist "don't dismiss what I'm telling you, I am ready to get rid of it,if he gets worse"

"It won't" Antonia said firmly

She didn't want to tell him the one she had last night, the one where she was locked up by him. She was chained to a hospital bed, in a dark room

"There's too much danger out there" Gabriel was hovering over her

"You have to let me go, why can't I use my ability, to get out"

"Something I picked up from a nice man from Haiti"

"Why can't you let me go Gabriel. I miss my family"

"I'm your family, why am I not enough for you Annie" he held her hand and gazed into her eyes, cuddled up to her "they're after you, you have our baby to worry about, I am ALL you need"

"Gabriel please!"

He started screaming at her "Why can't I be enough for you!"

She woke up startled. He didn't need to know about it, as she said before, it was just a bad dream.


	17. Chapter 17

Surprisingly the next couple of months were uneventful. They were constantly holding their breath for the next disaster but there weren't any. Noah celebrated his first birthday and made a mess of the cake and Gabriel beamed and thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. Antonia often had to laugh when he thought such simple things were incredible, he was so powerful and yet anything Noah did was to him something that could never be done by anyone else. He was still playing Nathan, still looking for what he had to do and Antonia was by his side.

Antonia and Gabe were at dinner, they had gone to see a show and were having a nice night out.

"I worry sometimes about Noah, when he gets older" Antonia was twilring her pasta around her fork. He was surprised when she declined wine, which she normally drank with dinner.

"How so? He'll be fine"

"What if the kids make fun of him" Antonia asks "What would we do?"

"We could talk to the kids parents, gently tell them to have their child stop, but Noah is fantastic, who would make fun of him" Gabriel smiled and cut into his chicken

"There are so many things that can happen, school is violent nowadays"

"He doesn't NEED to go to school, I can teach him. I understand everything, it won't be hard"

"What if he can't fight back?"

"He's my son, he can do it"

"What if something happens?"

"I will kill their parents" Gabriel said matter of factly "they will be too sad about their parents having their skulls ripped open to worry about making fun of Noah"

Antonia stared at her husband for a second and he smiled at her "Annie, you think I'm joking don't you?"

"Sadly, no"

"If I will kill for you, take bullets for you, go through a wood chipper and allow you to shoot me in the head, don't you think I would do even more for my flesh and blood?"

"Of course, now what about a daughter, would you let her date?" Antonia smiled

"No"

"Why?" She tilted her head at Gabe

"She doesn't need to date, she doesn't need any other man in her life other than her daddy"

"I think she might one date babe"

"When she's 50, she can date"

"45, that is more than fair"

"Annie, there are too many bad men out there" he stroked her hair "I don't want her dating someone who will hurt her, heaven forbid any scum lays a hand on her like what happened to you, they will wish they could die... but I would keep torturing them until they would BEG me to end it" he leaned over and kissed her gently

"Yea, we should teach her self defense"

"How to use their powers wisely"

"They'll be special. Let's stop talking about this right now" Gabriel took her hand "let's talk about what we will do when I get you home" he lowered his voice and whispered "that dress you're wearing is not good for my blood pressure"

Antonia leaned over and whispered back "What reason do you have for wanting to do that?" she winked

"I always want you babe. Plus Noah is a year old, and we want a bigger family..." he tilted his head at her and smiled "plus I am really horny right now"

"I see, I always thought you fought your base instincts"

"Sometimes I disappoint myself, I could take you right here on this table if I wanted and you would like it"

"Oh would I?" she winked "what would the end result be?"

"You not being able to walk for a day or so"

"Not a week"

"I'm not THAT special..." he laughed

Antonia sat silently smiling at her husband and sighed "I am trying to get you to say something"

"What?" Gabriel asked quietly

"What is the end result sometimes of love making?"

"I wasn't talking about love making Annie, I was talking about f**k"

"Gabriel Gray!"

He kissed her, he loved watching her squirm a bit

"Tell me what you want to tell me Annie"

"Our hard work paid off" Antonia took his hand

"Okay' he smiled at her and squeezed tightly "Annie, are you?"

She nodded "I just found out today"

"We're going to have another baby?" Gabriel looked down at his plate

"Yes"

Gabriel didn't look up, which was becoming worrisome to Antonia. She thought it would be a happy occasion and he would be ecstatic

"We should get the check" Gabriel said softly and got up to pay.

"Gabe" Antonia reached for him and he walked away, he came back with their coats, helped her with hers and walked her out silently.

He didn't say a word until they got home

"I thought you would be happy Gabriel" she didn't want to come off as angry, but she thought he wanted this, he didn't seem to care that all of there encounters were sans any protection, he was smart enough to know what the outcome could be

"I am, I'm just nervous"

"So am I" she hugged him and he put his head on her shoulder

"I don't know what to think" he pulled her on his lap "it's a lot to process"

"You said just an hour ago you wanted a bigger family, I thought you wanted this, what do we now"

Gabriel kissed her gently, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist

"I am happy for us, I want you and I want you to be happy" he smiled at her and Antonia was nervous as to what would happen next.

Antonia drifted off to bed while Sylar stayed up thinking. He was hoping another baby wouldn't complicate anything, he wasn't there for Noah's birth. He didn't have to deal with her mood swings, cravings and general discomfort. He could do nothing to help her when she was in pain. She would be more vulnerable now. He crept into his darkened room and laid next to Antonia. She had a little smile on her face, and her hair was tumbling down her back. He whispered softly in her ear "I love you" she rolled over to her side and held on to him.

Gabriel touched her stomach a little and started to talk to whomever was in there, a son or daughter "I want you to get used to my voice, I want to be the best father I can, I'm not overly nice, I don't play well with others, we're not normal but if you let me I can be a good father to you, I can't give you aunts and uncles and cousins, grand parents but you'll be perfect and loved"

"She can't hear you yet Gabriel" Antonia smiled at him he kissd her belly and made his way up her chest

"We should start now" he kissed her on the tip of her nose

"So we you still thinking of throwing me over a table Gabe?"

"Sylar wants to"

"I'm sure he does" Antonia glared at him a little and laughed

"However, Sylar is now a father and he has to be gentle"

"You won't hurt the baby, they are VERY resiliant while in the womb, I'm a doctor, I know" Antona smiled at him a bit wickedly and her hands made her way inside his boxers

"Do you know from experience?" he smirked at her

"No, but I really want to find out"

"Shh....no, we have to be good" he pulled her night gown off "I'm really happy we're having this baby. It is, what do you call it?"

"Evolutionary Imperative"

"Right, we are both smart, powerful..." he kissed her on her neck and then deeply on the mouth

"We are..." Antonia sighed

"I am very attractive" Gabriel gazed right into Antonias eyes and removed his boxers, sighing

"We are both attractive you mean"

"Shh..." he smiled at her and laughed "we are going to be so happy Antonia"

Gabriel was ignored his lie detector going off and made love to his wife as he always did.

Sylar hated doing this, from the depths of his soul he hated being at this man's door. He found him, not so much a threat, as much as a nuisance. He hated the way he looked at Antonia, hated that he once kissed Elle and that he grew up with a loving family, if you could call it that and he hated the fact that he was not actually his brother, though Sylar would never, ever admit it.

He took a deep breath and knocked a couple of times. He heard the door jangle and saw the youngest Petrelli standing there in jeans and a tshirt. He looked like he saw a ghost

"Sylar!" Peter cursed that he did not have his powers, the last that he stole was shape shifting, which was not an offensive one when it came to him. He could grab Sylar again but he was took quick

Sylar revved up some electricity and shot Peter down

"I need to talk to you Peter, about Annie"

Peter looked confused "How are you alive? I don't understand what is going on"

"That's not surprising Peter, it's a long story but this is more pressing"

"Is she okay? What did you do to her Sylar?"

"I did nothing Peter, she is fine, I don't like being here but I need you"

"Why?" Peter sighed and rubbed his temples, Sylar wasn't going to kill him, he never imagined he would want to just chat

"Annie is pregnant"

"Is it yours?"

Sylar glared at Peter "of course it's mine Peter, why would you ask me such a thing, do you think my Annie is some tramp?"

"Of course not, I just thought with your shape shifting, you change your DNA, it might not be yours" Peter smirked, getting to Sylar, watching him squirm was fun

Sylar got right into Peter's face and hissed "I would never do that to her, I am the only one who touches her, do you understand me?"

Peter smiled at Sylar "Okay"

"Jealous Peter, of what I have?"

"She's like a sister to me, I'm not into incest"

Sylar laughed "okay Peter, whatever helps you sleep"

Peter sighed loudly "Antonia is pregnant, the baby is yours and you're here, why?"

Sylar smiled a little "What was it like, to be with her for those 9 months and there at the birth, were you nervous that something might happen to her?"

"I was nervous that YOU would come back and hurt her" Peter said firmly and Sylar looked hurt

"I wouldn't"

"I didn't know that Sylar, you were killing so many people for so little, Antonia didn't tell you, I did what I could to make sure she would be okay"

"I feel like I need to just keep her locked away, so no one can find her"

"She would despise you, just enjoy it. She gets cravings for strawberries, salted nuts and fruit roll ups. Her mother told her she could have wine starting at 7 months but she refused"

"Why did she tape Noah's birth, it always seemed unlike her"

Peter paused "it was her moms ideas, she hoped you could come around one day and want to see it"

"She was in so much pain Peter, how can I sit there and watch her in agony and do nothing?" Sylar chuckled a little and ruffled his hair a bit

"All you can do it hold her hand and tell her it'll be okay"

"That's not enough Peter, I can't believe I'm going to be a father again"

"I cannot think of anyone less deserving" Peter smirked

"Peter, stop, I know I've done horrible things but she is everything good, I don't deserve her, and I am going to lose her one day, and the only way I can control when is if I kill her myself. Do you know how scary that is? Me thinking that I should kill someone I LOVE because...." Sylar laughed and leaned back on the couch

"Sylar, you'll be fine, you can use your powers for good. When I saw you in the future, you had a son, it was probably Elle's but you loved him and you protected him from so much. So don't worry" Peter went to hug him and Sylar looked at him oddly and patted him on the shoulder

"I don't trust the whole Petrelli hugging thing, see you later" Sylar got up to leave and Peter followed him

"So are we going to talk about the possible shape shifting into my brother?"

"Not now Peter, I have to go to Baby Gap" Sylar rolled his eyes "Or elsewhere, I don't know, I'm busy. By the way, you can call me Gabriel if you'd like"

"We'll see" Peter closed and locked the door behind him.

The months went by without any issues. There were no nightmares, only worries. He kept Antonia at home pretty much unless they were working and tended to her every whim. He got mad when she snuck out for yoga but realized it was good for her. He didn't want a thing to happen to his child. She always smiled at her and managed a sardonic remark about his worries. He rubbed her feet, her shoulders and carried her to bed every night.

"I might get used to this" she didn't appreciate it when someone bumped into her and he telekineticly threw the person across the street "he apologized Gabriel"

"I don't care, no one lays a hand on you" he put his arm around her possessively "let me take care of you"

She sighed and hugged him back "you keep forgetting our conversation on protective vs. creepy"

"YOU have to understand that I know what is best for you"

Antonia's baby shower was fun, Gabriel had gotten everything they needed already but it was a nice excuse to have some food and get together with Elle, Traci, Kayla and some of her friends from work. She missed her mom though and wished she was there.

"Are you worried stormy, about your power when the baby is born?" Elle smiled at Antonia, they were becoming closer and she was prepared to destroy her husband if he so much breathed wrong

"Why?" Antonia hadn't really manifested when Noah was born, but she knew Elle would explode if she was going through that much pain

"You might end up causing some trouble, you may need to invite the Haitian"

"So no epidural, I just need the Haitian"

"Perhaps" Elle laughed

At 9 months Gabriel got even more protective. On maternity leave he stopped everything he was doing to tend to her needs and she was in bed all the time.

"I never thought I'd say this but I am getting REALLY sick of you Gabriel, please go away" Antonia just wanted to get up and walk around, eat some cake and be alone

"That's just the hormones talking babe" he murmured in her ear "She's coming so soon, we have to be ready"

"I heard that a GOOD way to initiate contractions is sex, a lot of sex"

"Annie, we can't do that"

"Gabriel, you are in bed with me now. Either pull my pants down and screw me or please leave me alone" Antonia said firmly

"I will tie you to this bed, you're staying here until our little girl is born and that is IT. I should take you to the hospital now so they can be ready for us"

"They won't admit me Gabe, just breathe, I'm fine"

"I love you Antonia, I love you so much" he kissed her gently on the forehead he stroked her face and then rubbed her belly and felt the baby kick "I love you too little one"

He kissed her belly and rubbed her breasts and she was moaning, he kissed her neck and lips, it had been so long since he initiated this, since he was afraid it would hurt the baby.

"Please Gabe, you know you want it, so bad"

"I do, Annie" his face flushed and she grabbed his belt and started to unbuckle it Antonia squirmed a bit and kissed him "I am so fuc.. oh I am wet..." Antonia gasped "crap"

"What?"

"I'm wet"

"Good! That's good babe, I love it, I love how much you want me" he kissed her again and grabbed her hands so she could stroke him

"No Gabriel my water broke!"

He stopped and jumped off the bed to put his clothes on

"You're in labor?" He helped her up and grabbed their bags.

They arrived at the hospital and shortly after Antonia's family showed up. Peter also came to support Gabriel, but he said it was for Antonia too.

"It hurts so bad Gabe" Antonia groaned and was sweating. She felt sparks of energy coming from her "It's starting, my power. Oh no" she whispered

Gabriel grabbed her hand and tried to feel all the pain he could "anything you need Annie, take it out on me baby" he said as she was pushing

Nearly 5 hours later, Gabriel was in pain as well from Antonia unleashing her thunder into him. It was hard to control and he figured it was better than the Haitian, luckily this was the Company hospital so they were not that surprised. He hated that she was so exposed, he didn't like seeing her so weakened and having people looking at her in the places that his eyes should only be.

"Keep the door closed, no one leaves or comes in until our child is born" Sylar glared, the doctors who knew of him realized he was serious and didn't want to incur any of his wrath, he wasn't one to take lightly.

Finally with the last push they heard a cry, a loud, emotional scream and Antonia smiled. Gabriel walked over while they were cleaning the little one off. It was a little girl, just like they thought. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Congratulations daddy, meet your daughter" she handed the pink bundle to him and he walked over to see his wife.

"This is your mommy" Gabriel smiled and kissed Antonia on her head. Their family came in and they celebrated the birth of their daughter.

"What's her name?"

"I like Natalie or Celia" Antonia sighed "What do you like Gabe"?

"Whatever you want, I just want her last name to be Gray, that's all I ask"

"Natalie Celeste Virginia Gray" Antonia started dosing off a bit and they put the baby back in the nursery

The doctors told him he could go home, but he didn't leave her for 9 months, he wasn't going to go now.

Gabriel had eventually gone back to work and Antonia was cleared to return the next day. She was grateful for the quiet, she loved Gabe but since Natalie was born while he let up, he was still a bit over protective.

Antonia decided to relax a bit with a nice bath, candles, wine and a spa day. When she got home she thought about making dinner for Gabriel when he came home, they usually cooked together but it has been a while since they had some alone time, she was cleared for one of their favorite activities and she thought it would be a nice surprise.

When Gabe arrived home he was greeted by a meal cooking and candles. He noticed Antonia in a silky black robe and heels in the kitchen. He chuckled

"Why are you wearing your high heels silly?' he kissed her on her cheek and put his arms around her waist

"I like them, I haven't wore them in a while" she started to unbuttoned his top "Do you want some wine?"

"I do, you opened the good stuff I see" he poured some for himself

"I did" she slipped his shirt off and kissed him on his neck

"What do you have on under that robe?' he whispered. He saw her garter and lacy stockings

"You'll see after dinner"

"Are you dessert?" he gave her a lustful gaze

"No, panna cotta is the dessert" Antonia slid her legs down his and felt him through his pants.

"I want you" he pulled her hair down and kissed her full on the mouth and pressed her against him

"After dinner" she she led him to the table to eat

"You are really going to make me wait?" he looked incredulous

"I have waited 9 months" she smiled "eat up"

He smiled at her and ate, watching her eat was driving him crazy.

"I'm starting work again tomorrow, just part time for now, helping out with the clinic"

He smiled "that sounds great"

"Do you want dessert?" Antonia smiled "You're not touching me until later, much later"

"Annie, don't screw with me" he warned

"I am planning on doing that for the next couple hours, deal with it" she sat on his lap and fed him the chocolate covered strawberries and panna cotta "does it taste amazing?' she whispered "you're being SO good baby" she ran her fingers through his hair "I am so proud of you. Now I want you to go in the bedroom, take your clothes off and lay down"

"I don't take orders from you Annie" he smirked at her

"Then you're not getting anything tonight, NOTHING" she got up and walked into the living room. He got up behind her and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her on the couch and kissing her harshly "I'll do it, but your not tying me up or anything"

"Fine, just lay down" she kissed him on the nose

When he was finally naked on the bed she smiled and undid her robe and slipped her shoes off. She was wearing a lacy black and pink bra and panties and slowly took them off. She kept her eyes on Gabriel and she started to run her hands on her body and saw how amorous he was becoming

"I can have you here in about a second Annie" he was breathing heavily "please come here"

She walked over and ran his hands over his chest and arms, kissing his belly and pressing her lips against his, he pulled her close and flipped her over "I want you, so bad. You feel amazing" he breathed into her ear and she was screaming in no time.

They spent time with their little ones that night and hoped things would continue to be smooth sailing from then on.

Sylar was surprised at himself, he never thought he would be a good parent but he found himself growing to love his daughter and son more every day. He would never be a good guy, never be nice, he doubted he ever was but they never needed to know.

Natalie was screaming and he was frustrated that he couldn't help her, her cries tore right through him as he held her "it's okay" he whispered and walked around the apartment murmuring to her when there was a knock on the door.

He saw Bennett standing in front of him and was slightly bemused at Sylar's bed head, spit up on his white shirt and a crying baby.

"Did you change her yet?" Bennett smiled at him

"No, no Annie did before she left"

"She needs it again, she looks like her. That's a good thing"

Sylar glared at Bennett "what do you want?"

"I need your help"

Sylar walked into the nursery to check Natalie's diaper. The room was painted in a light blues and purples. "My hands are a bit full right now, I also have a business to run"

"This is serious, this person is worse than you, but he doesn't go after people with abilities, he just kills for sport. He's starting to develop a pattern but it is erratic"

"I thought you caught all the badies and stuck them in Level 5, until you all screwed up and let them out"

"Sylar, you should be thanking your lucky stars we don't take you in and make your life hell"

Natalie's cries subsided and she was gurgling happily. He gently put her in the bassinet and went to check on Noah. Bennett followed him around, he knew Sylar was holding out on him. They played mind games with each other constantly.

"What's his power?"

"Interested in taking it?' Bennett quipped

"Always"

"Biological manipulation and he's going after women"

"For what reason?" Sylar sat down with some coffee

"Why did you go after people?"

"Their abilities for one thing, I thought you were better at this"

"Sylar, he is going after women with small children predominately. The women were found horribly disfigured and.."

Sylar cut Bennett off sharply "I don't need to hear"

"You NEED to, you have to help, we need someone who can think like a sick freak like this person is"

"I'm not that sick Bennett"

"Really now?"

Sylar was so close to him their noses were practically touching "You're using the fact that my wife just had a child to scare me into being your pawn again Bennett"

"No, I really do need your help"

"Fine, but she's getting far away from here, her and the kids. No one can hurt her"

"Do you think she'll listen to you Sylar?"

"I'm her husband, she'll do whatever the hell I tell her to do" Sylar sneared at him

Noah rolled his eyes and laughed at him "I would LOVE to be here when you tell Antonia she has to do what you tell her to do because she married you"

"I need her to be safe, she'll go to our house in North Carolina, or I'll go to plan B" he grabbed the phone to ask Antonia if she would come right home after work

"What's' plan B" Bennett was afraid to ask

"You don't want to know" Sylar said matter of factly and closed his eyes as he dialed the phone.

Antonia came home for lunch, she was worried something was wrong with Natalie or Noah. She was going to surprise Gabriel that week with changing Noah's last name to Gray, she was still a little uneasy about changing hers but she thought it might be nice for Gabriel, instead of going down to the court house she made her way through the busy traffic of midtown and arrived home releatively fast.

She pulled her sunglasses off and saw Noah Bennett and Gabriel in the living room. She kicked off her shoes and rubbed her temples

"What's going on" she said breathlessly

Gabe walked over to her and smiled "I need to talk to you, will you come into the bedroom with me?"

"Bennett is here Gabe and I have about an hour"

Gabriel shook his head "Is that all you think you about? I have to talk to you"

She followed him into the bedroom and shut the door

"I need you to leave, take Natalie and Noah and get out of town"

"No" Antonia looked confused and she firmly put her hands on his arms

"You have to hear me out Annie, there is a real threat, that's why Bennett is here. I know you want to deal with things yourself, you're powerful, you raised Noah on your own..." Antonia cut him off

"You have to rewind Gabe, tell me what the threat is and why I need to pack up everything and go and leave YOU!"

"I'll be fine. I can't let anything happen to you"

"You'll be okay if something happens Gabriel" she stroked his face "You will be fine without me"

"No, I won't!" he was startled at how angry he got at her saying that "I WON'T be okay without you, our kids won't be OKAY, NOTHING WILL BE OKAY IF YOU DON'T GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

"Gabriel!" Antonia sat on the bed "breath" she ran her fingers through his hair

"Annie, there is someone out there, we don't know if he's part of a group, he has biological manipulation and is killing innocent people, especially women. He's in New York now and if you don't get out of town I will make sure you and my children are safe regardless if you like it or not. You have to start trusting me more, I wouldn't do anything hurt you" he sat next to her and ran his fingers through his hair, holding her close

"I can help you" she said quietly

"No, you can't Annie, no"

"Gabriel"

"You have to listen to me, when Peter went into the future, I was alone. I only had Noah, it's too dangerous. I love you so much, but I guarantee you, if you don't leave I will make sure you don't leave this apartment, ever, don't think I won't" Gabriel cupped her chin in his hand.

"Are you threatening me Gabriel" Antonia looked a bit confused, but not too shocked, it wasn't that uncommon for him to talk like that

"No, Annie, but stop pushing me and trust me. I think you are so brave, beautiful, strong and you can take care of yourself but let me take care of you, let me feel important, like I'm special enough to you that you'll listen to me and not argue with me when all I want to do is make sure you're with me for as long as possible. I have a plan" he kissed her gently on the lips and smiled at her.  
Sylar stood in his living room, took a few deep breaths when he heard the man walk in. He could have been unassuming if it wasn't for his hard blue eyes, his scars and the leering look he usually had. Sylar had tracked him down for a a week or so and it was finally time.

He was at a bar when Sylar saw him, the man was going by the name of Mitch, but Sylar knew who he wasn. They made small talk and Sylar casually mentioned married life, children and what a whore he felt his wife was. She wanted him to be something he wasn't and "Mitch" knew about Sylar, knew the kind of man Sylar was and they agreed to work together.

It was time, he and Mitch were waiting for Antonia to come home. He stood looking at her, she smiled at him and asked who his friend was.

"He's going to help us, sit down" Sylar said coldy

"Help us with what?' Antonia was of confused

"Stupid woman, what do you think" Mitch sneered at her

"Excuse me? You can leave now" Antonia crossed her arms, she had enough to deal with and Gabriel would hear it from her when he finally left

"Just do it" Sylar said coldly

"She's pretty, she probably has opened her legs to every man she looked at, are you sure those brats are yours?"

"Who knows, it doesn't matter, they'll all be dead soon" Sylar sneered at her

"What the f**k is going on her Gabriel" Antonia was overheating, angry betrayed and was ready to beat this man to a pulp and then move on to Sylar when she was done

"Sit DOWN!" Sylar screamed

"NO!" Antonia was too slow and Mitch grabbed her hair and pulled her into the bedroom before she had a chance to fight back. All he heard was screams, sobs and begging. She called his name over and over again. He stood their emotionless, but felt the bile rise in his throat. Then there was silence.

"She was pretty Sylar, really fantastic" Mitch smiled at him "did you want to take care of the kids now"

"No, no need. We have some other things to do now"

"Sylar, you can't have anymore connections, their better off dead" Mitch was trying to reason with him "they won't have a good life, they'll turn out like you, do you want that?"

"Let's just go, we can deal with them later"

"They have to die"

"Right, right" Sylar said "they will" he silently thanked any higher power that was out there that he no longer had Ted's power. "I need you to come with me now, I proved myself loyal to you and now you have to help me, I want to understand what you do, and why you do it. I'll get you somewhere safe"

Sylar drove Mitch to the outskirts of Long Island. Mitch kept going on about how fantastic of a kill it was, Sylar finally snapped "Stop IT!" then quickly regained composure "Sorry, she out of my life now, and I don't want to talk about her" Sylar pulled into the parking lot and got on the phone

"He's here now, yes everything is set. Come out now" Sylar clicked his cell phone closed and pulled a needle out, jabbing him quickly "you really have no clue who you're dealing with do you?" he laughed and in the distance saw his once enemy, now partner Noah Bennett in his three peice suit and stupid glasses

"How the hell did you catch him, and why did you do it without me?"

"You told me to think like him, it wouldn't have worked without you, now get this piece of detritus away from me or I'm going to murder him with my bare hands" Sylar paused becoming pale "I have to go throw up now"

Sylar ran to the nearest bathroom, the sweat dripping off of his face, he drive heaved and sobbed for what felt like forever. Curling up on the floor to the stall he pressed his forehead to his knees weeping. He felt the familiar vibrating of his phone and noticed the name

"Hi baby" Sylar breathed into the phone

"Hi, my plane will be in tomorrow morning. Kayla is all set in her dorm. How's our guy"

"Good, he's at his play date" Sylar's throat tightened "I can't wait to see you Annie"

"You're sweet, I'll see you in the morning. Give Noah a kiss for me"

"I will, I love you" his voice caught a little

"I love you too"

Sylar heard Noah walk in, his feet rustling

"Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly

Sylar emerged from the bathroom and was embarassed by his state of disarray

"I caught him, I used my powers but I can't deal with what I saw. This animal was so much worse than me"

"What did you do"

"I made him think I let him kill Annie, and that I was going to let him kill my kids.... I used my warping and illusion" Sylar closed his eyes tightly "I STOOD THERE AND WATCHED KILL MY WIFE" he sobbed "I shouldn't...."

"Sylar" Bennett put a hand on his shoulder "you're smart enough to know that you no matter what, you can't get emotionally involved. You see what happened with Elle, that wasn't the first time with her, trust me"

"You're comparing Elle to this" Sylar gained his composure and smirked at him

"Not exactly, but you can't do that again, sure you'll catch the bad guys, and I'm grateful you did, but real or not, there has to be another way, you can't put yourself in these situations in a personal way"

"You asked me to think like him, that was the only way to get him to trust me Bennett"

"It gets easier"

"Does it?"Sylar put his head down "I'll be back later" and he walked away.

Later that night he was laying on the couch, thinking of his next move and he felt a hand on his leg

"Bunny?'he saw a face peak up from behind the couch

"Who put you up to this?" Sylar smiled

"Bunny!!!" Noah yelled

"You have your bunny Noah"

"For daddy" his heart melted a bit, Noah carried it when he was sad and now he was trying to make him feel better

"Thank you Noah, would you like to sit with me?"

Noah crawled up on his lap, resting his head on his dad's shoulder and they fell asleep.

The next morning he heard Antonia come in

"I'm glad I have a camera" she snapped a picture of Gabriel and Noah on the couch, it was adorable, he probably wouldn't appreciate a picture of him with his son in one arm and a purple rabbit in the other but it was too perfect for words.

"You're home" Gabriel got up and kissed her passionately "I love you, so much, I love you"

"I should go away more often" she wrapped her arms around his neck "what did I miss?' she smiled.

Once Antonia was settled Sylar realized he had to talk to her about what had happened while she was gone.

"Did Natalie do okay on the trip?" he asked as he helped her unpack

"She was good, I think she enjoyed it, as much as she could" Antonia yawned a little

"I caught the guy we were after" Sylar said confidently

"The one who was murdering women, biological manipulation?"

"Yes"

"Did you take his power?"

"Not yet, I'm debating" Sylar ran his fingers through his hair and smiled "I did it in a very stupid way, it'll never happen again, I'll be more careful next time"

"What did you do?" Antonia said a bit annoyed

"I used my power to make it look like he killed you and then possibly Noah and Natalie"

"Why would you do that Gabriel?" Antonia walked over to him and put her arms around his waist and held him. "That must have been so scary" he never knew if she was going to be sympathetic or ticked off. He just knew that his name rolled off of her tongue like honey and she fit right in the nook of his arm, as long as she did that, held him, loved him, she could be as angry as she wanted to be.

"That was the only way, he needed to know I was serious"

"You can kill me all you want but if you ever touched the kids I would rip you apart with a chain saw"

"I love you Annie" he kissed her "I wouldn't do anything to them, so leave your chain saw in storage"

"I love you too Gabe"

"What's worse is Noah saw me cry"

"That's worse?' she smirked

"Yes, you know he'll use that against me"

"Maybe not" Antona said kindly

"If anyone kills you it should be me"

"Why would I want someone to kill me?" Antonia again, jet lagged and sore hated when he got this way.

'Better it be me then some animal on the street, leaving you somewhere, I couldn't bare it" He kissed her and looked at her sadly

"Okay, Gabriel I think you need a nap" Antonia was uncomfortable with where this discussion was headed.

"No" he kissed her again and nibbled on her neck "we should probably get away for a while, this place is getting to me"

"Have you ever thought about what we would tell the kids about us, about why you don't age?" Antonia was desperate to change the subject.

"Not really"

"What if we screw up their lives somehow, people may find out about you, all you've done"

"They don't have to know Antonia, ever" he was firm but had thoughts of Natalie being angry with them for something they have done to haunt her, having Noah's friends call him weird because his dad was a monster, they didn't need to know anything, as far as they were concerned their parents were boring, drab, out of the loop adults-a doctor and a watch maker.

"It's not just you, its me too. I've killed"

He pulled her close and kissed her "that was self defense, don't think about it. So we really only have 2 kids in the future" he puckered his lip out slightly.

"Seems to be that way" She smiled "maybe we do need to get out of here for a while"

He kissed her again, happy she was home and safe, but there always seemed to be something just in the background, waiting to screw things up again.

Sylar was back again at the companies medical facility. His eyes were blood shot and he refused any offer of comfort, water or food. He he no clue what was wrong and he needed to be alone. He cursed the fact that his blood didn't heal, he hated that Claire was dead, it wasn't right and if things went bad he was prepared to find something to stick in his sweet spot and end it all.

Bennett sat next to him and cleared his throat

"Kayla and Seth are in with her now, did the doctor talk to you?"

Sylar sat silently, he was retreating within himself and searching for answers.

"The doctor said there was a chance she could be fine, they just need her to stay in the ICU"

"She's in a coma, I need to know what's wrong with her and the only way I can do that is to slice the top of her head off.... so either way I'm screwed" Sylar said sadly "Things were going so well for us for months and now..." he was angry and wanted to hurt someone "Get Matt Parkman here, he owes me one" Sylar sneered and glared at Bennett "Call him, he won't come here for me, but maybe he will for you"

He walked into her room and Seth and Kayla left, Kayla hugged her brother in law and silently walked out. He sat next to her and stroked her hair, smiling at her sadly. She was breathing steadily and looked like she was resting, so normal, like she could wake up any minute. The beeping machines drowned out the roaring in his ears, he needed to understand what was wrong. They wanted to map her brain, with that new machine he had inadvertently perfected at dinner months and months ago, he thought bitterly.

Her boss had slipped him her number and said if he needed someone to talk to she wold be there, she was actually hitting on him while his wife lay in a hospital bed. He was too numb to be angry, he just handed her back the paper and said he was fine. She wasn't worth worrying about.

Antonia recalls falling asleep, she was tired, so tired but not feeling sick. She finished her book, kised Gabriel good night and drifted off. She felt him come into bed a couple of hours later, recalls his slender body against hers, him pulling her close to her, she murmured his name a bit fuzzily and then there was nothing.

The next thing she remembers she was at work at a private clinic somewhere on the west coast. Her name was engraved on a plaque "Dr. Antonia Gray, Cheif of Staff" precognitive dreaming was going to come in handy.

Antonia knew she was dreaming as she walked through her office in this unknown hospital. There was a picture of her, Natalie and Noah on her desk. Noah was around 9 and Natalie was 8. Gabriel wasn't in the picture with them, which was strange to her, why wasn't he there? A little voice told her it was because she cheated, but no, she wouldn't have done that, she couldn't leave him. Nor did she believe he would ever let her.

Meanwhile Matt had arrived at the hospital. Bennett made it sound urgent, while he didn't trust him very much, he tried to play nice with him, it was Danko and his men who killed Daphne, who made him and his family go on the run, it wasn't Bennett. Bennett appealed to Matt's soft side and told him there was a troubled youth at the hospital with telepathy and he thought Matt could help her.

Matt arrived to see Bennett and Sylar in the waiting room. Sylar was quietly talking to a little boy and he was dumbfounded for a moment.

"What is this? Why is he here?"

"Champ, why don't you go with your Uncle Seth and Elle, get a sandwich" the little boy nodded

Matt stared at Sylar for a moment "who was that?"

"My son, I have a son and a daughter" Sylar smiled a little and then glared at Matt

"That's proof" Matt scoffed

"Of what?" Sylar did not want to chat with Matt at this moment

"You having 2 children who love you, a wife... life isn't fair is it?"

"Hate me all you want, but you owe me and I need your help"

"I OWE you! You are delusional, you tried to kill Molly, you shot at me, you're a psychopath" Matt was becoming annoyed

"You were a patsy for Angela Petrelli who brainwashed me, or TRIED to. Trust me Matt, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, which will be fun for me, not so much for you" Sylar winked at him a little

Matt noticed the little boy come back into the waiting room looking sad, his lip puckered out a little bit "Office Parkman?' the little voice rang out

"Yea" he bent down to see him. He had dark eyes and dark blond hair. When he thought of Sylar's memories he noticed the little boy looked like him when he was younger

"You are going to help my mommy? She is sick, she needs to read me... my bed time stories" Noah's voice wobbled a little and his lip puckered out even more

Matt sighed "Yes, I'll help your mommy, for you" Noah hugged him and ran to Elle "where is my sucker?" he smiled brightly. Matt was out of ear shot and headed for Antonia's room.

Elle looked slightly abashed and smiled "kids, they just don't know when to shut up?' she laughed

Sylar picked Noah up "where did you learn to do that?" he asked smiling

"Elle, she told me it was okay and showed me a blue sparkler"

"It looks like you have power of persuasion"

"No, it's called you being wrapped around his finger" Elle sighed.

"That was nice of Elle , you have to go home now, I'll see you later" kissed his son.

Sylar smiled at Elle a little "thanks for being here"

"I'm not here for you" Elle smirked and Sylar gave her a little pat on the shoulder

"Annie's boss hit on me"

"Do you want me to zap her?"

"No" Sylar shoved his hands in his pocket

"You never let me have any fun"

"I could always get back with you if Annie dies" Sylar turned to Elle and she looked a bit disgusted

"No, that ship has sailed"

Sylar laughed "just checking, sorry it was a bad joke... I don't know what else to do, I'm a bit stressed"

"You could shower, you haven't been home in days"

"She could wake up and then she'll be alone, I don't want that"

"She would appreciate you not smelling like ass when she wakes up"

"Elle, I need to go and see Matt now, if he tries anything..." he looked angry

"What did you tell Noah, does he know stormy is in a coma?"

"No, I made an illusion, he thinks she is in for a small surgery, nothing serious. He doesn't need to worry"

Sylar quietly walked through the cold corridors of the hallway and went into Antonias room. Matt was on one side of her bed and Bennett was on the other. In this light Sylar looked worse for wear. A weeks growth, bags under his eyes, wrinkled clothes.

"Go into her mind, see if she's still there. I need to see if I can help her. First just tell me what she's thinking now"

Matt got into her mind, which was remarkably more pleasant then when going into Sylars.

"She's fine, she said not to worry....her sister Kayla has read the book She's Come Undone 75 times, and that you went on your first date at a restaurant called Dolce Vita. You had the pasta carbonarra, she had fish, you shared that and a plate of olives. You wore a blue button up shirt, you have a birthmark on the inside of your thigh... and now she is just trying to irk me a little" Matt blushed and Sylar was on the verge of tears but laughed "that's her, do you know what's wrong?"

"I'm not a doctor Sylar"

Gabriel was sitting at his new watch shop. His instruments gleamed, everything was as it once was back in NYC except for the sweater vests and glasses. It was a great cover for him, he was a business owner to everyone who would meet him. A quiet and humble watch maker and clock repairman. They had no idea.

The woman entered the shop and smiled

"Can I help you?" he asked

"My clock is broken, and I heard you could fix it, you're the best" she said sashaying over to him and leaning over the table

"What's wrong with your clock mam?" he stood up and walked over to her

"It's wound way too tight, it's a fantastic clock...my husband would be so disappointed if it was broken, as would a few of the nurses I work with"

"I would suggest the nurses stay away from your clock, too many people around such a delicate piece could ruin it. It needs a gentle but firm hand, it's probably such a great piece, something maybe only one person should work on" he stroked her arms and kissed her neck

"I'll bet your good with those tiny spaces, your hands are so nimble. She held his hands and kissed him

"I have a big clock myself"

This caused Antonia to crack up laughing

"Oh, you have a big clock"

They started to laugh

"How long do you have?" he asked as he pulled her shirt off "I have to do a thorough investigation" he kissed her neck and breasts "this will take time, to get to the bottom of this"

"I heard you were the hottest new watch maker in town, I mean REALLY hot" Antonia got on her knees to take him in her mouth

"Oh, I am going to need about an hour of your time today" his eyes rolled in the back of his head

She stood up and led him to the storage room, he stopped and lifted her up on one of the tables "I have an hour, I'm the boss. Enough of this lousy dirty talk" her hands made their way down his chest, his head tilted a little and he smiled at her.

"I should have done this when I first met you"

"And skipped dinner?" Antonia frowned

"We have to christen the new shop babe" he kissed her passionately

Sylar sat by Antonia's bed side as always, he finally had some time alone with her without her family hovering outside. The doctors didn't know what was going on, they said she was very healthy, which made him think that someone did this to her, but who? What kind of power does someone have to do this? Sylar found the drawer he needed. As he sat listening to the steady beeps of her monitors he grabbed the needle, made sure the door was locked and stabbed his arm and filled the syringe with blood.

It was his last chance he thought, and injected it into her IV. He smiled at her and stroked her hair "I'll make a deal with you, you wake up for me and be fine and I'll try to be good, I'll make a valid effort to not take another life for as long as you're around... I will be the best husband you could ask for but if you don't I can promise you I will murder every person in this hospital, find the person who did this to you, murder them and then probably find my sweet spot and jab something in there" he kissed her on her cheek and laid his head on her shoulder, holding her hand "I love you" he felt her heart beating faster and she started to convulse and heave, his face turned pale, the alarm went off. Nurses and doctors came running in to tend to her and he was pulled away from her.  
Elle came in to lead him out

"Leave me alone Elle"

"You should go home Gabriel" Elle said firmly "we have a lot to do, it will get your mind off of things"

"No" he glared at her "no"

"At least sit down"

"Once she's stabilized I'm going back in to sit with her"

"It could be a long time before she wakes up" Elle said, even though he looked like he was ready to rip her a new one. She wasn't a bit frightened of him

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course not, just come with me, we'll get some lunch, okay?" she took his hand

"Fine" he allowed her to lead him away.

Antonia walked through her new home. Big picture windows over looking a huge back yard with orange and peach trees growing. A crystal clear pool, hard wood floors, a huge chefs kitchen. All painted in bright and cheerful colors. Gabriel kissed her good bye as he left for work. He was dressed all in black, she smirked at him "so you're going to _work_?"

"Yes" he smiled "When I get home we have to go to Noah's parent teachers conference"

"If he continues to get bullied, we need to home school him. He gets plenty of socialization in his other activities"

"If you let me take care of it, it would be fine" he wrapped his arms around her waist

"Bye Gabe"

"Enjoy your day off Annie" he ruffled her hair and headed out

A little girl ran down the stairs laughing "Mommy, the rain stopped! We can go swimming today"

"Did you want the rain to stop sweetie?"

"Yes!"

Antonia knelt down in front of her daughter "Did you see your Aunt Elle yesterday?"

"We had slushies and Uncle Seth took me to the museum"

"Did your Aunt Elle do anything out of the ordinary?"

"She did this" She saw little sparks come out of her daughters hand "Magic!" Natalie giggled.

Antonia sighed, her daughter was an empath. They tried so hard to hide their powers from the kids, how could they explain? How could they explain about their father? Their family and past?

"Do you ever get annoyed if you don't understand something?"

"I always get it cuz I am the most smartest person in my class and the prettiest and I wanna go play now" Natalie turned around and started walking outside

Later on in the day she told Gabriel "So she has my power,yours...she has my original one?"

"Yes, she probably has all of yours and both of mine. She has it so early"

"So she gets them like Peter?"

"Yes and if you try to imply that she got it FROM Peter you will be sleeping outside" Antonia was fidgeting with her glass.

"Interesting...." he trailed off

The conference that night went well. Gabriel found them boring and insignificant, he knew more than these people and was uninterested in what they had to say

"Noah is very shy, is he being coddled at home?" the teacher asked

"No, he's just better than all of the children" Gabriel said matter of factly

"He makes up stories, he said you can cut grass without a lawn mower"

"Special I guess" he glared at her

"Noah is a normal child, he shouldn't be taught he is more special than everyone else"

"But he is" Gabriel said matter of factly and Antonia nudged him

"We will talk to Noah about all of these things" she said kindly

The teacher looked at Gabriel "you look familiar to me"

"I'm just a normal watch maker" he picked up a pen off of her desk and wrote down a number "this is my cell, call me if Noah has any issues" The teacher looked down dumbfounded at her bic pen, then was now solid gold.

Antonia then saw glimpses of her life, what it would be like. Her sister was in the FBI when she heard the name "Sylar" again. It had been so long since she heard her brother in law referred to as Sylar

"It's the same MO, he was never caught. Kayla, we want you to work with Audrey, she knows about the case first hand, she can help you"

At a family dinner she pulled Gabriel aside "You have to watch your step, the FBI is trailing you again" she hissed at him.

Noah's first girlfriend cheated on him, it broke his heart and he didn't leave his room for a week. She went missing shortly there after.

Antonia asked Gabriel if he had anything to do with it. He smiled at her and said nothing.

Natalie wanted to date an older boy, she was a freshman he was a senior, he was trouble and her parents said no.

"Not everyone can be a goody goody like dad" she looked at her father in his sweater, jeans and glasses "you don't understand, he has a lot of good in him"

"He's too old for you and he will get you into trouble" Gabriel smiled at his daughter "we have your best interest at heart"

"Mom, he is so sweet and SO cute, he's a bit of a bad boy, but it's okay"

"They can be really cute, can't they?" Antonia smiled

"Yes!"

Gabriel glared at his wife "Cute or not, you're not dating him"

Natalie went up stairs and Gabriel pulled his glasses off and kissed his wife "What is she going to do when she finds out her mom is a HUGE hypocrite"

"Aww, what are you talking about, you're a kitten" he kissed him on the nose

"I admire your restraint Mrs. Gray, you didn't tell her what glorious lovers we are as well" he nibbled on her neck

"I like your cardigan, it would look a lot nicer on the floor" Antonia kissed him and bit his lip

"I'm a goody goody, I don't know what you want from me Mrs. Gray..." he smiled and shocked her a little

"You know, I don't mind her going on one little date with him Gabe" she kissed him again

"No, bad idea... very bad idea. You know how we get, bad guys you know" he lifted her up and held her against the wall

"Just make sure she doesn't talk to Elle, she has no shame"

"Babe, Elle is not going to tell Natalie about her and I... I'm her dad" he smiled at her

"No, but she can get around it somehow" Antonia pulled his shirt off

"Annie, babe, the kids are upstairs, we have to go to the bedroom"

"No, bathroom...right around the corner" she kissed him

"I want you" he pulled her into the bathroom and sat on the end of the tub and turned the water on. "Let's get you out of these pesky clothes"

"I do have a bad boy complex don't I?' Antonia crawled onto his lap "You have mommy issues, we're the perfect pair!"

"Now you're in trouble" he playfully slapped her on the bum and she bit him on the shoulder hard and rotated her hips against him

Sadly that image faded as well, it was one of the more pleasant visions she was having...

They had to be extra careful when they made love, once the kids got older. Natalie had walked in on them, luckily just under the covers and not tied up or being electrocuted. Antonia called the Haitian to erase her memory since she was paranoid.

They were different from other parents. They looked younger than everyone, were loving towards each other. When asked if they would ever get divorced Gabriel laughed "Your mom is not foolish enough to do that"

They choked their way through the birds and the bees talk but nothing prepared them for the talk about powers.

It happened in a very unexpected way. They were talking at the table about Kayla's discovery.

"You're getting cocky Gabriel, we have a quiet life here and if anything happened.." she trailed off

"Don't worry, it'll be taken care of, I'm on the good side now" he said softly

"I thought you would stop killing"

"It's different now"

She heard a gasp, it was Natalie and Noah

"Killing?" Noah said. He looked more like his father everyday

"You kill people? WHAT! I had a feeling..." Natalie said "I read about someone, who looked like you.. OH MY GOD" she yelled and started breathing heavily

"Natalie, you don't understand" Gabriel went to touch her arm "Get away from me you monster! I know about you" Gabriel looked hurt

"Don't talk to your father like that Natalie!" Antonia yelled

"He's not my father, I don't know him" she ran up to her room. Noah stood there quietly

"You can tell me, I can try to talk to her if you want" Noah said. Gabriel had gone upstairs

"In a bit Noah, let me talk to your father"

Antonia sat on their bed, he looked like he was crying "She doesn't know any better. She didn't mean it, she's a teenager"

"My own daughter, no matter what I do....it's always going to come back and haunt me Annie" he put his head on her shoulder and she scratched his back

"We should talk to them in a little bit, It will be okay" she kissed him and laid him back on the bed, stroking his face "I love you" she kissed him again

She finally calmed Natalie down and she apologized to her father.

Antonia started

"Have you noticed anything different lately?" Natalie and Noah shook their head

"This isn't going to be the sex talk again is it? We won't do it ever, until we get married" Noah laughed

"No, no, not that. Your father and I, as well as MANY people out there like your Uncle Seth and Elle, Kayla, Peter.. to name a few we have abilities. Our DNA is different from others"

"Are we sick?"

"No, we have powers. I have 2, your father has several"

"Like what?" Natalie asked intrigued

Gabriel lifted his finger and moved a glass over to him with his mind. She vaugely remembered being 2 and her daddy doing a magic trick and carved a pumpkin in front of her with no tools.

"That's incredible, do I have one?"

"You do Natalie, you're what they call an empath, you absorb peoples abilities. When you were little you discovered mine, Elle's and your fathers but nothing happened after that, we didn't think to mention it after that"

"Dad, is that how you got your abilities?"

He cleared his throat "not quite. I can do that with some, but I have to copy the DNA, which means I have to go to the source" he said nothing after that

Noah looked sad, "I don't think I have one, I'm just normal"

"You probably do champ, you just don't know it yet" Gabriel tried to be encouraging.

"Everyone is different" Antonia agreed.

The vision faded much to Antonia's sadness, she wanted to learn more.

Antonia was older, she was in the audience at Noah and Natalie's graduation. There was a man sitting next to her, but it wasn't Gabe, he had brown hair and brown eyes, he was her age. She was around 50 by then, in a way she recognized him. He held her hand "Is he coming?"

"I assume so, they are his children"

"You haven't talked to him in a while, have you?"

"He never really looked at me the same way, I know he probably used illusion, it was probably hard for him"

"Don't think about it" He kissed her on the cheek

"You're lucky, he didn't try to kill you" Antonia said softly

"What about you? You don't think he would have tried something?"

"I don't know" when she saw him, in his suit looking as young as ever. He heard people around him referencing Antonia and the man she was with as Noah and Natalie's parents. Gabriel was far too young looking to be a parent of kids going to college in the fall. He shoved his hands in his pocket and saw her.

"Antonia" he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek

"Gabe"

"You look well, have you seen them yet?" he asked politely

"Not yet, do you want to go?' Antonia asked, the man looked worried "Annie, please..."

Gabriel grabbed his arm violently "You don't call her that, you don't say her name"

Antonia walked with Gabriel to see Noah and Natalie. He led her into an empty conference room and put his arm around her

"I missed you"

"Gabe, it's over I told you"

"Interesting Annie, so you like him. I always thought there was something"

"It's too much Gabe, you'll never stop and I'm not the person you married either" She grabbed his arms to release herself.

"Does he make you happy?" he kissed her on her neck "Does he do that Annie, hm?'

"Yes" he knew she was lying

He got on his knees and kissed her belly "I bet he has no clue what this does to you" she squirmed a little and smiled in spite of herself

"Do you think he would throw himself in front of a bullet for you?" he stood up and he started to go up her shirt with his hands.

"He wouldn't have to, I wouldn't be in danger" she sighed

"Do you love him?"

"Yes"

"Really" his hands went through her hair and his lips were planted firmly on hers and he held her down with TK

"Does he make you happy Annie?"

"He does, he makes me happy" she was shaking and he didn't notice, or he didn't care

" I don't believe you, you can get out of here anytime you want, and you haven't. I did everything for you and you STILL left me, I wasn't good enough, I hate you, one minute you wanted me to be good, then bad. I fragmented myselffor you and you spit on me" he looked sad for a second then filled with rage. He ripped her skirt off and she felt his fingers inside her and she whimpered "Please don't, Gabriel"

"My name is Sylar you bitch, what's interesting to me is that you seem pretty ready for me, does he do that for you, huh! Does he, TELL ME... that's all you wanted from me, isn't it? I was someone you could play with" he smiled at her, such a horrific smile, she felt like she wanted to vomit.

"No of course not, I loved you... I did, please this is our children's graduation"

"You ruined everything" he rasped

"I still love you, please don't hurt me"

"You're lying" Antonia felt a grip around her neck and life was slowly draining from her "Gabriel please" she couldn't breathe and she wasn't fighting back. She didn't think this was the way she was going to die, these dreams were so different than her precognitive dreams. Which ones were real?

"I told you before, I didn't have a heart. Why aren't you fighting back, you coward!"

"I hate you" she was choking

A man in glasses was behind him "Gabriel please" Antonia was terrified, her dreams usually made sense to her.

"Annie, wake up, it's okay. Don't cry" Gabriel took her hand and stroked her hair "Everything is fine, you're doing great, wake up"

"Gabriel, I'm sorry" she looked up at the figure above her

"He can't hurt you anymore" Gabriel smiled at her

He placed her cheek against her. She started to feel stubble, who did she know who had a beard?

Kayla was in the room with Seth, Gabriel and Bennett. Seth was trying to lighten up the mood by suggesting that once Antonia wakes up they could tell her she was out for 20 years.

"You do that and she will never talk to you again" Kayla rolled her eyes at her big brother.

Antonia heard this and her eyes fluttered open, the beard she felt belonged to Gabe, she smiled "you haven't shaved" she whispered to him and his eyes darted open

"Do you like it?" he asked smiling

"Who are you?" Antonia's eyes widened "Where am I?"

Kayla and Seth looked worried "She has amnesia!" Kayla sat by her sisters side

"I'm your sister" she said slowly

"Ah, my sister. How long have I been in a coma... sis?'" Antonia asked sardonically

"A week" Kayla hugged her

"Oh, not 20 years" she shot cold eyes at her brother, weakly but cold and Gabe laughed and kissed her on her cheek, the lie detector ability was a great ones sometimes.

"You heard me?" Seth blushed

"Yes...now what is my name?" Antonia tried to suppress a grin, she was a lousy actress so it didn't work and she started laughing weakly

"Wait, you know who the hell I am!" Kayla playfully slapped her sisters arm

"Hey, don't beat up the sick person!"

"That was mean!"

"MEAN! You guys were going to tell me I was in a coma for 20 years"

"But we didn't" Kayla smiled

They left after a bit to give Gabriel and Antonia some alone time. He held her close and kissed her "I have so much to tell you Gabe" she smiled

"Should I keep the beard"

"For a bit. Now what happened to me? What was wrong? I had so many visions"

"I know, I got inside your head" he smiled

"Gabe..." she said wearily

"I didn't kill Matt Parkman, he did it willingly" Gabriel had curled up next to her, feeding her sips of water and kissing her gently

"That's nice of him. We should move away" she said sleepily.

"I'm glad your back Annie"

"I don't think you're going to kill me" she said quietly and he looked confused

"Get some rest, we'll talk in the morning" he held her close and finally dosed off after a week.

Antonia happily dreamt that night of the kids graduation that night, happily from college with Gabriel by her side. Holding her hand and smiling the whole time.

He was happy to take her home finally after a couple more days at the hospital. Noah drew her a picture and tried to make her breakfast consisting of a frozen waffle, a flower, jelly, cake and an apple. She laughed and thanked him.

Gabriel had noticed she was a bit distant from him since she got home. She tensed whenever he touched her and this worried him.

He insisted on taking care of her and staying home until she was ready to go back to work again. When he tried to stroke her face and kiss her she started to shake.

"What did I do?" he asked finally

"Nothing, when I was in the hospital, I had a dream it scared me. The same old story right?" she scoffed a little

"It had to do with me? That's why you're scared now?"

"A little, I know it wasn't really you, but it was real" she let him put his arms around her. She loved the softness of his skin, his scent but she couldn't get over how scared she was, the way he threatened her, even if it wasn't real. "It happened before, when I was 17.... but I died after, you tried to kill me after"

"Oh Annie" he held her close "I wouldn't do that to you, ever, I couldn't"

"It's just been a rough year, we should think about going to our home down south, and getting away from all of this for a while. We can just be together, and figure out our next move, where we want to go"

"Good idea" he kissed her gently on the lips

She touched the back of his neck and slowly rolled on top of him, kissing him. "I really don't want this to scare me"

"I'll be gentle with you" he kissed her neck and lips, smiling at her warmly

"Before you shave the beard I want to try something" she winked and laid down and he laughed

"Whatever you want, if you need me to stop, let me know"

"I will" she sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck,when he was done, he laid down and let her do whatever she wanted to him, which was a first, he sat up a bit in bed and she put her arms firmly around him and kissed him, whispered sweet nothings, it was different than usual, but nice. They decided to pack their bags the next day, to start a new chapter of their lives.


End file.
